^ 


TRUE  TALES  ABOUT 
A  CHINESE  BOY  AND  HIS  FRIENDS 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

IRVINE 

EX  LIBRIS 

HORACE   YEH 


3G60 


MOOK.    A   TRUE    TALE. 


This  is  Mook 


MOOK 


3^ 


TRUE   TALES   ABOUT   A   CHINESE 
BOY  AND   HIS   FRIENDS 


BY 
EVELYN   WORTHLEY   SITES 

Introduction   by 
FRANK   M.  McMURRY,  Ph.D. 

TEACHEKS    COLLEGE,    COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITT 


PUBLISHED    BY 

THE  CENTRAL  C0MMITTP:E  ON  THE  UNITED 
STUDY  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

WEST  MEDFORD,   MASS. 


Copyright,  1918, 

BY 

EVELYN  WORTHLEY  SITES 


Stanbope  iprcss 

F.    H.GILSON   COMPANY 
BOSTON.  U.S.A. 


THE  VERMONT  PRINTING  COMPANY 
BRATTLEBORO 


TO  THE  BROWNIE  TWINS 
BETTY  AND  FRED, 

AND   ALL   OTHER   GIRLS   AND   BOYS   WHO   CAN 

STRETCH    OUT   THEIR   HEARTS   TO   TAKE 

IN  THE  CHILDREN  ON  THE  OTHER 

SIDE   OF   THE   WORLD 


CONTENTS 

Paqb 

Introduction 11 

Chapteb 

I    MooK 13 

II    Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl,  and  Cross- 

Patch 29 

III  Pltjm  Blossom's  Granny 51 

IV  Ten-Cent  Sister 69 

V    Dai  Kai 87 

VI  Three  Golden  Wishes 103 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

jyfook Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Boys  and  Girls  Welcoming  You  to  China 14 

A  Cabin  on  the  Mountain 20 

Farmers  Threshing 21 

The  House  That  was  Just  Like  Heaven 22 

Mook  with  Guenivere   23 

The  Box-full  of  "Jesus  Birthday  Gifts  " 24 

Mook  Watching  the  Opening  of  the  Box   24 

Mook's  First  Christmas  Present 25 

Mook  on  the  Front  Seat  Looking  Happy 26 

The  Comfort  Dolly 28 

The  Overland  Express 30 

The  Bed,  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  Had 33 

Getting  Ready  for  Worship  Day 34 

The  Procession  on  Worship  Day 35 

Four  Girls  Whose  Feet  were  Set  Free 37 

Girls  Learning  to  be  Home -Makers 38 

Heavenly  Ability  Taking  Tea '. 39 

Washing  Under  Difficulties 40 

An  Out-Door  Study  Hour 41 

Learning  to  be  Athletic 42 

The  Three  Teacher-Sisters 46 

Malea's  Smile 47 

Girls  and  Boys  Who  Have  Never  Been  to  School. ...  50 

Girls  and  Boys  Who  Have  Studied  for  a  Year 50 

Children  Out  of  School 52 

One  of  the  Grannies 53 

7 


8  List  of  Illustrations 

Facing  Page 

A  House  Like  Plum  Blossom's 55 

Women  and  Girls  Learning  to  Read ,.  59 

A  Morning  Ride 62 

Plum  Blossom  Coming  to  School 66 

Summer  Brook 67 

The  Home  on  the  Raft 71 

The  Sampan  House 72 

Little  Folks  in  the  Kindergarten 76 

The  Big  Boat  That  Went  up  the  Shining  River 80 

The  River  Bank 81 

The  Temple  with  Dragon-tail  Roofs 81 

Big  Boats  Tied  up  for  the  Night 82 

The  Wiggs  Estate 83 

Mrs.  Wiggs  and  Ten-Cent  Sister 84 

'Twasn't  My  Fault 85 

Not  Ten-Cent  Sisters 86 

The  Bridge  Where  Dai  Kai  Sat  and  Begged 90 

The  Boys  m  the  Bhnd  School 99 

The  City  of  Lingering  Peace 113 

Sound  Virtue 114 

Mook  in  the  School-Room 115 

Mook  Looking  Down  on  the  Shining  River 116 

The  City  of  Happy  Valley 117 

The  Fine  High  School  Mook  Wished  to  Attend ....  118 

The  Boys  Mook  Taught  in  Sweet  Cane 120 

Mook's  Friends 121 

The  School-Girls  from  Abiding  Joy  Grown  Up 123 

The  East  and  the  West 130 


Dear  Boys  and  Girls: 

Once  upon  a  time  I  knew  six  little  American  children 
in  China.  They  were  nearly  always  upside  down;  they 
would  only  sit  right  side  up  to  eat  their  dinners  and  to 
listen  to  stories.  And  whenever  their  mother  began  to 
tell  a  story  they  would  say :  "  Mother,  is  it  true  ?  "  They 
didn't  want  to  Usten  if  it  wasn't  true. 

I  know  that  every  story  in  this  little  book  is  true, 
because  I  was  right  there  and  I  saw  the  things  that  hap- 
pened with  my  own  eyes. 

Evelyn  Worthley  Sites. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  main  effect  of  this  book  is  to  impress  one  with  the 
Umitless  possibilities  for  good,  if  proper  help  could  be 
extended  to  the  Chinese.  At  least  that  is  the  principal 
impression  I  have  received  after  reading  it  in  manuscript 
and  again  in  proof. 

Much  the  same  impression  is  likely  to  be  made  upon 
children.  The  tale  is  primarily  intended  for  them, 
having  been  written  from  the  point  of  view  of  children 
and  deahng  largely,  though  not  wholly,  with  them. 

The  means  by  which  this  effect  is  assured  shows  a  high 
degree  of  educational  skill.  First  of  all,  the  facts  pre- 
sented are  vital.  The  poverty  and  suffering  of  the  masses 
in  China,  together  with  their  superstitions  and  injurious 
customs,  are  dealt  with  at  length.  Abstractness  is 
avoided,  however,  by  presenting  these  always  in  their 
personal  or  individual  setting.  Along  with  such  matters 
are  included  the  hopes  and  ambitions,  the  energy  and 
skill  of  the  Chinese  children,  and  their  keen  appreciation 
of  favors  and  of  opportunities  for  improvement.  The 
outcome,  for  the  reader,  is  not  only  sympathy,  but  a  high 
degree  of  respect  for  the  Chinese.  They  have  ability; 
what  they  need  is  opportunity.  The  sense  of  obligation 
toward  these  people  thus  produced  is  followed  up  at  the 
ends  of  the  several  chapters  by  suggestions  of  things  that 
might  be  done  for  them,  such  for  example,  as  the  sending 

11 


12  Introduction 

of  pictures,  toys,  money,  etc.  Even  these  suggestions  are 
offered  in  a  most  attractive  way.  In  fact,  this  feature 
possibly  shows  most  fully  the  skill  of  the  author. 

This  kind  of  literature  is  of  special  importance  at  the 
present  time.  Owing  to  recent  events  we  comprehend 
far  better  than  formerly  the  worth  of  mutual  understand- 
ing and  sympathy  among  the  different  peoples  of  the  earth. 
And  educators  now  realize  that  extensive  attempts  in  this 
direction  should  be  made  with  children.  Their  attitude 
toward  foreigners  is  a  very  large  factor  in  the  total  alti- 
tude of  our  society. 

School  text-books  have  heretofore  accomplished  very 
little  in  this  respect.  Most  geographies  and  histories,  for 
example,  give  remarkably  little  space  to  China;  and  the 
effect  of  the  statements  they  do  contain  often  tends  more 
toward  contempt  for  these  people  than  toward  sympathy 
and  respect.  Granting  that  each  nation  has  many  virtues, 
indeed,  superiorities  over  others,  we  must  find  space  to 
present  these  qualities.  This  book  is  a  real  contribution 
in  that  it  leads  in  this  direction  so  successfully. 

F.  M.  McMURRY 

Teachers  College,  New  York  City 
Dec.   24,  1918 


CHAPTER   I. 
MOOK. 


18 


THE  LOVELIEST  LAND   I   KNOW. 

i 
I 

Come  draw  up  close,  and  I'll  sing  you  a  song  \ 

Of  the  loveliest  land  I  know, 

Where  sweet  birds  carol  the  whole  year  long,  : 

And  there  never  is  ice  or  snow; 

Where  hillsides  blossom  with  posies  gay, 
And  brooklets  laugh  in  the  merriest  way,  j 

'Tis  just  a  beautiful  place  to  play  — 
The  loveliest  land  I  know  !  ' 

i 

There  are  sturdy  lads  who  will  welcome  you  ,] 

To  the  loveliest  land  I  know;  j 

They  will  show  you  things  that  are  strange  and  new  i 
Wherever  you  choose  to  go; 

There  are  girls  as  winsome  as  girls  can  be  ^ 

Who  will  curtsy  shyly  and  bring  you  tea;  ; 

Oh,  don't  you  want  to  go  home  with  me  j 

To  the  loveliest  land  I  know?  | 

I 


14 


These  are  the  boys  and  girls  welcoming  you  to  China 
Avilh  pretty  China  flags.  The  little  girl  in  front  seems  to 
be  dressed  like  a  boy,  but  you  mustn't  mind  that;  it  is 
their  custom.  You  see  she  has  a  flowered  dress,  while 
the  boy's  suit  is  plain.  She  is  a  very  womanly  little  girl; 
and  they're  all  most  lovable  children! 


CHAPTER  I. 

MOOK. 

Little  Mook  sat  up  on  the  bed  and  stared  in 
terror. 

He  wanted  to  cry  —  it  was  such  a  strange 
Creature !  Was  it  a  man  or  a  woman  —  or  one 
of  the  terrible  devil-ghosts  his  uncle  talked 
about?  But  then  the  Creature  smiled  and 
looked  kind  —  surely  the  Creature  would  not 
eat  him! 

He  held  on  steadily  until  the  Creature  went 
away  and  then  he  cried  —  not  aloud ;  he  was 
not  a  baby.  He  heard  the  Creature  saying 
strange  words  in  another  room;  he  could  not 
understand  them,  but  these  were  the  words: 

"There's  a  child  in  the  cook's  bed-room.  He 
is  scared  to  death;    I   wonder  who  he  is?" 

Strange  things  had  happened  of  late;  and  this 
was  the  very  strangest!  First  his  kind  father, 
the  big  man  who  used  to  give  him  cakes,  was 
sick  with  a  disease  that  made  him  cough  and 
cough,  oh,  so  hard!  And  when  he  coughed  his 
body  ached,  and  little  Mook  brought  him  tea 

.0 


i6  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


in  a  big  cup.  He  was  a  tiny  fellow  then,  only 
up  to  his  daddy's  knee.  And  then  one  day 
the  Chinese  doctor  came,  and  brought  medi- 
cines, —  shining  black  beetles,  with  long  funny 
horns.  He  wanted  to  play  with  the  medicine- 
beetles,  but  they  cooked  them  to  make  medi- 
cine; and  yet  Daddy  had  coughed  just  as  hard 
as  ever.  And  after  that  he  could  not  go  in  to 
see  Daddy,  and  Mother  and  Auntie  had  bought 
incense  —  oh,  so  much,  and  put  before  the  big 
idol,  and  begged  him  to  make  Daddy  well. 
Mother  had  walked  a  long  way  with  the  in- 
cense, and  beat  her  head  on  the  stones  before 
the  idol,  and  yet  the  big  idol  did  not  make 
Daddy  well.  They  took  Daddy  away  one  day, 
with  gongs  and  music  and  fire-crackers;  where 
he  had  gone  no  one  quite  knew;  but  no  matter 
how  long  you  watched  for  him  or  called  his 
name,  he  never  would  come  back !  And  Mother 
had  cried,  oh,  so  long  and  so  hard;  he  had 
brought  her  tea  sometimes,  and  patted  her 
cheek. 

But  then  the  Five  Rulers  had  brought  the 
deadly  plague  —  sickness.  The  Five  Rulers, 
Mook  was  told,  were  devils  who  send  diseases 
to  people.  They  had  been  carried  in  sedan 
chairs  through  the  streets,  looking  very  awe- 
some;   and  you   could   see   them,  —  big,   ugly 


Mook  17 

idols  —  only  one  must  be  very  careful  to  bow 
low  and  never  smile  when  they  passed!  Then 
came  the  Tall  Brother,  the  pale  white  devil, 
ever  so  high  —  he  stood  away  above  men's 
heads,  and  rolled  his  eyes  about  and  worked 
his  jaws  —  probably  he  just  loved  to  eat  little 
boys!  After  him  came  a  big  drum;  and  after 
the  drum  came  the  black  squatty  devil,  with 
gaping  mouth  and  a  tongue  that  wagged  out; 
but  he  was  not  quite  so  dreadful  as  the  Tall 
Brother.  Had  they  not  carried  these  fierce 
beings  around  the  streets  day  after  day  to  keep 
the  plague  demon  away  ?  And  one  night  they 
gave  the  Five  Rulers  a  theatre  in  the  temple; 
Mook  had  run  in  to  see  the  strange  actors;  and 
a  big  feast  was  given  —  so  many,  many  good 
things  to  eat,  and  yet  the  plague  demon  did  not 
go  away !  Mother  had  given  money  to  help  pay 
for  the  theatre,  and  the  family  went  without 
rice  that  day  in  consequence.  Then  suddenly 
Mother  was  terribly  sick,  and  they  took  her 
away,  and  she  had  never  come  back! 

Just  as  he  was  thinking  all  this.  Uncle  Ding, 
who  did  cooking,  came  in  with  his  basket. 
Uncle  Ding  had  been  kind  to  little  Mook. 
Uncle  Ding  loved  him  and  gave  him  nice  rice 
and  fish  and  cakes.  He  wished  he  could  stay 
with  Uncle  Ding  always. 


i8  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Next  day  little  Mook  thought  he  would  ven- 
ture into  the  house  where  the  strange  Creature 
lived.  She  had  smiled  at  him;  maybe  she 
would  not  harm  him.  He  crept  to  the  door 
and  peeped  in. 

What  a  wonderful  house !  There  were  beauti- 
ful things  hanging  on  the  wall.  It  was  such  a 
white,  clean  wall!  There  were  rows  on  rows 
of  shining  books,  and  another  strange  creature 
sat  on  the  floor,  wiping  these  with  a  cloth. 
They  were  talking  together  and  laughing  most 
merrily  —  clearly  they  would  not  eat  little  boys ! 
Perhaps  he  could  help  wipe  the  books.  After 
two  or  three  timid  advances  and  retreats,  little 
Mook  slipped  in  and  held  out  his  hands  for  the 
cloth.  The  lady  smiled  —  they  were  both 
ladies,  he  had  learned  —  and  spoke  kindly  to 
him;  and  he  began  to  feel  a  little  bit  at  home  in 
the  wonderful  house.  Every  morning  after  that 
he  came  around  to  the  door  and  waited  till  he 
was  beckoned  in  to  help.  One  day  he  was  asked 
to  take  a  letter  across  the  fields  to  another 
house.  There  are  terrible  devils  who  meet  you, 
right  in  broad  daylight,  when  you  cross  these 
paths.  The  other  uncle,  the  old  one,  with 
the  big  frowning  eyebrows,  had  told  him  all 
about  it,  night  after  night,  and  little  Mook  had 
wept  when  he  heard.     Should  he  try  this  peril- 


Mook  19 

ous  errand?  He  set  his  teeth,  gripped  the 
letter,  and  started  out  as  fast  as  his  brown  legs 
could  carry  him  across  the  fields.  In  fifteen 
minutes  he  came  flying  back;  and  nothing  had 
caught  him  at  all! 

When  summer  was  over,  the  strange  ladies 
went  away,  and  with  them  kind  Uncle  Ding 
who  gave  him  nice  cakes  and  rice.  Little 
Mook  wanted  to  go  too,  oh,  so  badly!  The 
ladies  wanted  him  to  go,  because  he  had  learned 
to  do  so  many  helpful  things.  He  could  dust 
the  shelves,  and  clear  the  table,  and  carry  the 
dishes  away;  and  he  could  peel  potatoes  for 
uncle  in  the  kitchen.  He  loved  to  do  these 
things.  He  did  not  want  to  go  back  to  the  old 
uncle  with  the  big  frowning  eyebrows;  he  did 
not  want  to  listen  to  his  tales  of  the  devils  who 
stand  in  the  corners  of  the  road,  waiting,  even 
in  broad  daylight,  to  jump  out  and  grab  little 
boys.  These  stories  made  him  cry.  But  the 
frowning  old  uncle  said  he  must  go  back  home 
with  him;  and  he  was  only  six  years  old,  so  he 
went. 

It  wasn't  at  all  nice  at  the  old  uncle's  house. 
It  was  a  very  crowded  house  to  begin  with. 
There  were  scarcely  board  beds  enough  for  all 
the  family  to  sleep  on;  and  under  the  beds  were 
chickens  and  sometimes  a  pig.     The  room  that 


20  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

should  be  the  parlor,  where  everybody  ate,  was 
cluttered  full  of  farming  tools.  His  auntie  had 
grown  very  unhappy  living  with  the  uncle  who 
had  the  cross  eyebrows;  there  were  a  good  many 
little  children  to  be  taken  care  of,  and  there  did 
not  seem  to  be  any  room  or  any  rice  or  any 
clothes  or  any  love  left  over  for  little  Mook. 
Many  times  the  cross  uncle  beat  him,  when  he 
had  done  nothing  wrong  at  all! 

By  and  by  winter  came,  very  cold  and  biting 
for  bare,  brown  feet.  Every  night  Mook  crept 
away  under  the  corner  of  the  ragged  coverlet, 
on  the  bed  where  the  other  children  were  sleep- 
ing, with  tingling  fingers  and  toes,  and  thought 
of  the  dreadful  devil-tales  the  cross  old  uncle 
had  told  them,  and  wished  he  could  have  more 
supper,  and  wept  softly  while  the  others  were 
asleep.  Some  nights  he  would  hear  a  tiger  roar 
in  the  mountain  jungle.  Every  morning  he 
went  about  the  yard  when  the  sun  shone,  with 
the  baby  on  his  back.  The  baby  was  big  and 
heavy,  oh,  so  heavy!  Many  days  little  Mook's 
back  ached  with  carrying  him  about.  If  only 
the  strange  plague-devil  had  not  come  to  take 
Mamma  away!  But  he  loved  the  baby  dearly 
—  loved  to  comfort  him  when  he  cried,  and 
even  loved  to  carry  him,  though  baby  did  grow 
so  very  heavy.     For  Mook,  you  know,  though 


This  is  a  cabin  on  the  mountain  where  the  houses  are 
small,  and  made  of  stone  lest  the  typhoons  should  blow 
them  to  j)ieces.  Do  you  see  the  Shining  River  in  the 
distance? 


These  are  the  farmers,  hke  Mook's  Uncle,  threshing 
the  rice.  A  matting  is  placed  around  three  sides  of  the 
box  to  keep  the  rice  from  blowing  away.  Behind  is  the 
village  at  the  mountain's  foot,  with  fine  big  houses,  having 
curved  roofs.  Can  you  see  the  stacks  where  the  rice 
straw  is  kept? 


Mook  21 

he  was  six  years  old,  was  not  so  very  much 
bigger  than  a  baby  himself! 

One  very  cold  rainy  morning  something  won- 
derful happened!  Kind  uncle,  who  had  gone 
away  so  long  before,  came  to  see  little  Mook. 
He  had  such  a  happy  smiling  face,  with  two 
rows  of  white  shining  teeth,  and  so  many  pleas- 
ant things  to  say !  Mook's  little  heart  leaped  for 
joy,  and  he  ran  to  his  uncle  as  fast  as  he  could 
—  you  can't  go  very  fast  with  a  big,  big  baby 
on  your  back!  The  uncle  had  come  to  say  that 
those  foreign  ladies  wanted  Mook  to  come  down 
the  mountain-side,  and  sail  down  the  Shining 
River  to  Abiding  Joy,  where  they  lived.  They 
promised  that  he  might  go  to  school,  and  said 
he  was  to  earn  his  living  by  waiting  on  the  table. 
Mook  was  seven  now.  Seven  years  old  is  a 
pretty  early  age  to  begin  earning  your  own  liv- 
ing, don't  you  think  so.^  But  up  in  the  cross 
uncle's  home  he  had  been  earning  his  living 
without  really  getting  it,  for  never,  since  he 
went  to  the  cross  uncle's,  had  he  had  quite  all  he 
wanted  to  eat. 

So  it  was  a  very  thin  little  figure  that  stood 
that  night  inside  the  door  of  the  foreign  ladies' 
dining-room,  clad  in  an  ancient  coat  of  his  kind 
uncle's;  the  coat  came  quite  to  his  brown  feet, 
which  was  good,  because  he  had  no  shoes;   and 


22  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

the  long  sleeves  drooped  far  down  over  his 
hands.  In  spite  of  it  all,  Mook  stood  up  just 
as  tall  as  a  very  small  boy  can  stand.  Besides, 
he  was  not  afraid;  for  had  not  the  tall  ladies 
been  kind  to  him  all  summer  .^^ 

Next  morning  he  began  to  learn  his  work  in 
serving  the  table.  Uncle  Ding,  the  friendly 
cook,  showed  him  just  where  to  lay  everything. 
It  is  very  queer,  the  ways  of  these  foreign 
people!  They  eat  with  swords  and  spears;  and 
though  these  weapons  are  so  barbarous,  they 
are  most  particular  just  how  they  are  placed 
upon  the  table.  Mook  noted  every  motion  of 
his  kind  uncle  with  keenest  interest,  and  im- 
itated these  motions  exactly;  and  very  soon 
he  could  serve  the  table  as  well  as  Uncle  Ding 
could.  Every  room  of  the  house  was  a  new 
marvel  to  him.  Indeed  it  was  a  marvel  to  all 
the  people  round;  for  never  in  all  their  lives 
had  they  seen  such  a  clean  and  beautiful  home. 
They  call  the  house  "Tieng  dong"  which 
means  Heaven;  and  they  came  limping  on  their 
tiny  feet  for  miles  and  miles  to  see  the  house 
that  was  just  like  Heaven. 

Mook,  who  had  not  begun  his  school  work 
yet,  was  always  glad  to  serve  these  visitors  tea, 
and  help  show  them  about  the  house  which  was 
just  like   Heaven.     In  this  house  there  was  a 


This  is  the  house  the  neighbors  said  was  just  Uke 
Heaven,  because  it  was  so  high  and  broad  and  clean.  Did 
it  ever  occur  to  you  that  the  house  you  are  hving  in  today 
would  seem  like  Heaven  to  half  the  people  in  the  world? 
This  house  is  on  a  green  hill  in  the  city  of  x\biding  Joy. 
The  two  lady-teachers  lived  in  this  house  and  opened  a 
school  for  girls.  It  was  here  that  Mook  came  to  help 
with  the  work  and  go  to  school. 

The  left  part  is  the  school-house  part.  Do  you  see  the 
big  yard  for  the  girls  to  play  in?  And  the  fine  line  in 
front  is  really  the  road  that  the  neighbours  walked  on 
when  they  hobbled  into  town  on  their  tiny  feet  to  see  the 
house.  There  are  purple  lilacs  growing  on  the  green  hills 
in  winter,  and  scarlet  azaleas  in  summer.  Do  you  see 
the  carefully  terraced  gard*>ns  in  front?  Those  are  rice- 
fields. 


This  is  Mook  with  his  kind  Uncle  Ding,  and  the  queer 
big  drab  cow,  Guenivere,  with  the  httle  calf  Naomi, 
Mook's  pet.  Guenivere  is  a  kind  of  cow  called  a  caribou, 
or  water-buffalo.  She  doesn't  like  to  be  milked,  because 
Chinese  boys  and  girls  never  drink  milk,  and  so  Chinese 
cows  are  not  accustomed  to  be  milked  at  all.  Often  the 
milkman  has  to  allow  the  calf  to  begin  the  process,  and 
then  slyly  slip  in  and  finish  the  milking  himself.  If  he 
doesn't  have  a  real  calf,  he  will  use  a  stuffed  calf,  and 
bump  the  cow  until  she  lets  down  the  milk! 

Guenivere  has  to  soak  in  black  muddy  water  every  day 
to  give  white  milk.  Can  you  explain  that?  I  can't! 
The  white  milk  gives  white  butter.  Would  you  like  it? 
It  looks  funny  at  first,  but  it's  really  very  nice! 


Mook  23 

pretty  green  parlor,  and  a  red  dining-room, 
which  the  Chinese  ladies  loved,  because  they 
said  it  was  the  bride's  room;  and  there  was  a 
brown  study  and  a  little  hall.  On  the  floor  of 
the  parlor  was  a  cloth  that  people  walked  on, 
just  as  if  it  did  not  matter!  They  would  go 
round  and  round  these  four  rooms  two  or  three 
times,  and  each  room  was  so  wonderful  to  them 
that  when  they  entered  it  a  second  or  even  a 
third  time,  they  exclaimed  with  delight,  think- 
ing they  had  never  seen  it  before!  What  they 
loved  to  do  most  of  all  was  to  bounce  on  the 
spring  beds,  and  then  go  home  and  tell  all  their 
neighbors  about  the  bouncing  beds  and  invite 
them  to  come  and  bounce  too. 

One  day  Mook  was  helping  in  the  kitchen  and 
he  heard  a  great  shouting  of  men  outside  the 
gate.  He  ran  to  open  it,  and  in  came  four  men 
straining  under  the  load  of  a  huge,  heavy  chest. 
It  was  so  big  that  even  Guenivere,  the  huge 
buffalo  cow  in  the  yard  who  terrified  everybody, 
galloped  away  in  fear,  with  her  little  calf  Naomi 
leaping  at  her  heels.  Behind  these  men  came 
two  other  men,  carrying  a  second  chest.  Mook 
followed  the  boxes  in,  his  eyes  big  with  wonder; 
then  he  quickly  ran  for  the  hammer  to  help 
open  them. 

They   said   the   boxes   were   full    of   "Jesus' 


24  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

birthday"  gifts  for  the  school  girls.  Mook  did 
not  at  all  understand  what  Jesus'  birthday  was, 
but  truly  it  must  be  a  very  grand  event !  Trem- 
bling with  excitement  he  took  out  the  nails  — 
would  they  never  come  out?  And  there,  care- 
fully packed  in  straw,  lay  the  most  wonderful 
toy  people!  There  were  dolls  of  every  shape 
and  size,  —  dolls  with  brown  hair,  dolls  with 
golden  hair;  dolls  in  pink  and  blue  and  gorgeous 
red  garments;  dolls  with  real  shoes  that  come 
off!  And  there  was  one  radiant  creature  with 
lustrous  golden  curls  that  could  actually  "niak" 
its  eyes!  Mook  had  never  seen  anything  in  all 
his  life  so  marvellous  as  this  toy  person  which 
could  wink  its  eyes!  He  heard  the  tall  teacher- 
ladies  tell  Uncle  Ding  that  some  girls  in  America 
bought  these  toy  people,  and  even  sewed  all 
the  beautiful  clothes  for  them,  on  purpose  to 
make  the  school-girls  happy  on  Jesus'  birthday. 
Truly  the  American  children  were  good  to  love! 
Most  thrilling  of  all,  in  the  second  box  there 
was  a  picture-book  all  for  Mook  himself,  sent 
away  across  the  ocean  just  for  him.  Mook's 
little  heart  leaped  within  him  as  he  took  the 
book.  It  was  the  gladdest  thing  that  had  eyer 
happened  to  him  in  all  his  life.  •  .; 

The  lovely  dolls  were  hidden  carefully  away 
until  Jesus'  birthday  should  come,  and   Mook 


1  -_^^SB^""'""^i^'^ 

W3M 

iBi^^ 

%l 

1 

i  ■fik^ 

i    mmikm 

j^flr*^ 

"1 

M  SBma^MMTi 

-^  ,, 

A' '  hV^^^^^^^^^M 

^ 

1 

Tliis  is  the  box-full  of  "Jesus  birthday"  gifts  for  the 
school  girls,  and  Mook  taking  out  the  nails.  His  fingers 
are  pretty  trembly.  It  seems  to  him  the  nails  will  never 
<-ome  out! 


Mook  is  trying  very  hard  '.o  cover  u|)  his  excitement 
as  the  box  is  opened.     J)o  you  know  how  he  feels? 


This  is  the  picture-book  that  came  all  for  Mook  him- 
self. It  was  the  gladdest  thing  that  had  ever  happened 
to  Mook    in  all  his  life. 

Can  you  remember  the  very  first  Christmas  present 
you  ever  had?     Why  can't  you? 

Why  was  it  that  Mook  had  never  heard  of  Jesus' 
birthday  before? 

Did  you  know  that  half  the  children  in  the  world  have 
never  heard  of  Christmas  yet?     Why  is  that? 


Mook  25 

was  warned  not  to  tell  even  a  whisper  about 
them  to  the  thirty  bright-eyed  girlies  in  the 
school  room.  No,  he  would  never  tell!  Then 
other  mysterious  things  began  to  happen. 
Someone  was  sent  to  the  hillsides  to  bring  a  big 
evergreen  tree.  This  tree  was  put  up,  mind  you, 
right  in  the  house!  Mook  himself  helped  to 
put  it  up,  though  for  the  life  of  him  he  could 
not  imagine  why  people  should  plant  a  tree 
in  the  house!  It  was  planted  only  in  a  box, 
and  anybody  might  know  that  a  tree  in  a  box 
with  stones  around  it  would  never  grow!  And 
then  they  began  to  put  things  on  the  tree,  and 
Mook  helped.  There  were  handkerchiefs,  and 
towels,  and  lovely  big  picture  cards,^and,  last 
and  best  of  all,  the  dolls  were  brought  from 
their  hiding  place  and  tied  on  the  tree.  And 
then  the  doors  were  tightly  locked,  for  it  was  all 
to  be  a  great  surprise. 

Early  in  the  morning  on  Jesus'  birthday  the 
guests  began  to  arrive.  The  tall  teacher  said 
that  never  in  all  the  ages  since  Jesus'  real  birth- 
day, nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  had  there  been 
a  Christmas  tree  in  that  town.  Every  little 
girl  was  resplendent  in  the  best  dress  she  had 
or  could  borrow,  with  her  hair  neat  and  shin- 
ing. Old  men  came,  and  crooked,  hobbling 
grannies,  on  tiny  stumps  of  feet,  with  black- 


26  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

eyed  children  clinging  to  their  skirts.  The 
school-house  was  thronged;  and  the  school-girls 
sang  and  recited  and  served  the  guests,  with 
pretty  courtesy,  to  oranges  and  cakes  and  tea. 
Then  the  big  doors  were  pushed  open,  and  for 
the  first  time  in  all  their  lives  the  people  of 
Abiding  Joy  beheld  a  Christmas  tree.  Their 
admiration  knew  no  bounds.  For  each  school- 
girl there  was  a  doll;  and  for  every  guest  there 
was  perhaps  the  prettiest  thing  he  ever  had  pos- 
sessed —  an  exquisite  Christmas  card.  And  for 
Mook,  too,  there  was  a  doll!  You  see,  he  was 
only  seven.  It  was  the  most  wonderful  day  in 
all  his  little  life,  —  the  first  Christmas  day  he 
had  ever  known. 

When  the  school-girls  went  home  for  vaca- 
tion, each  girl  carried  in  her  hand  her  doll. 
They  went  to  many  villages;  and  wherever  a  lit- 
tle doll  went,  she  took  with  her  a  message  of  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  hearts  of  American 
children.  So  when  school  opened  a  month  later, 
forty  girls  came  up  the  long  hill,  instead  of 
thirty.  Among  the  new  girls  were  Moon  Fairy, 
Moon  Pearl  and  another  little  girl  with  snap- 
ping, flashing  black  eyes  whom  I  shall  have  to 
call  Cross-patch.  Being  a  very  little  girl,  she 
sat  on  the  front  seat,  and  Mook,  being  a  very 
little  boy,  was  seated  beside  her. 


Here  is  Mook  sitting  on  the  front  seat  and  deciding 
that  he  is  very  happy.  It  isn't  Cross-patch  beside  liini 
in  this  picture,  but  Golden  Gem,  the  tiniest  girhe  in 
school. 

At  the  back  are  the  three  "teacher-sisters."  What  is 
the  map  on  the  wall.' 


Mook  27 

There  was  no  other  boy  in  the  school  except 
Heavenly  Ability,  the  matron's  little  lad  of  five, 
who  looked  very  grave,  sat  very  straight,  and 
tried  to  make  himself  seem  twice  as  big  as  he 
was. 

Mook  looked  around  the  pretty  school-room, 
looked  at  the  bright-eyed  school-girls,  and  de- 
cided that  he  was  very  happy.  He  looked  at 
Cross-patch  and  smiled  and  she  smiled  back 
just  a  little;   and  so  his  school  career  began. 


28  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

THINGS  FOR  THE  CHINA  CLUB  TO  DO. 

Don't  you  think  it  would  be  fun  to  have  a 
China  Club?  You  would  want  to  choose  a 
President,  and  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer, 
and  a  Kindly  Adviser.  The  Kindly  Adviser  is 
a  grown-up  person  to  help  keep  the  Club  from 
getting  tangled  up. 

Wouldn't  it  be  fun  for  the  Club  to  start  right 
out  now  for  China  ?  Do  you  think  of  China  as 
a  stupid  yellow  map  ?  It  is  not  a  stupid  yellow 
map  at  all,  but  a  most  delightful  country.  How 
would  you  go  to  find  Foo-chow,  or  Happy  Val- 
ley, and  the  Shining  River,  the  Min  ? 

Wouldn't  it  be  fun  for  every  member  to  keep 
a  China  Book,  and  put  all  the  interesting  things 
you  can  find  about  China  in  the  China  Book.^ 

And  would  you  like  to  make  Christmas  happy 
for  some  girl  or  boy  who  never  had  a  Christmas  ? 
Do  you  know  any  missionary  in  China  .^  The 
Club  could  vote  to  send  her  a  Christmas  box. 
Let  the  Secretary  write  and  ask  her  what  you 
can  send  to  make  some  children  in  China  happy. 
You  can  begin  right  away  to  collect  pretty  cards 
and  dolls  and  really  good  toys.  The  little 
Chinese  child  does  love  a  toy  that  is  perfect! 
And  at  some  Club  meeting  you  can  pack  the 
box! 


THE   COMFORT   DOLLY 
I'm   only    a   golden-haired,     At   last    one 


blue-eyed  doll. 
All  ruffled  in  ribbons  gay; 
I  crept  down  into  a  Christ- 
mas box 
And  merrily  sailed  away! 

We  sailed,  and  sailed,  and 
sailed,  and  sailed; 

The  ocean  is  wondrous 
wide ! 

'Twas  lots  of  fun  in  the 
C'hristmas  box 

With  all  of  us  tucked  in- 
side! 


day  — -  oh,  a 
queer,  queer  day. 

When  our  long,  long  trip 
was  o'er, 

We  all  awoke  midst  the 
strangest  folk 

Who  never  saw  dolls  before ! 

The  little  girls  seized  us  in 

eager  arms, 
And  danced   up  and   down 

in  glee; 
The   grown-ups  came  over 

hill  and  dale 


Oil  purpose  to  look  at  me! 

If  you  are  a  golden-haired,  blue-eyed  doll, 
All  ruffled  in  rii)l)()ns  gay, 
^OuM  better  creep  into  a  Christmas  box 
And  merrily  sail  away! 


CHAPTER   II. 

MOON   FAIRY,   MOON   PEARL 
AND   CROSS-PATCH. 


29 


LITTLE   GIRLS  JUST   LIKE  ME. 

They  say  that  there  is  a  wonderful  land  ] 

Over  the  shining  sea,  ,1 

Where  little  girls   live  in  houses  grand  —  ! 

Little  girls  just  like  me  !  ; 

And  they  can  run  and  laugh  and  play,  i 
Happy  and  strong  and  free, 

Because  their  feet  do  not  ache  all  day  —  ' 

Little  girls  just  like  me  !  i 

i 

Oh  wouldn't  it  be  the  nicest  fun  i 

To  sail  o'er  the  shining  sea,  J 

And  watch  those  happy  girls  laugh  and  run —  i 

Little  girls  just  like  me  !    - 


30 


Tliosc  are  girls  arriving  at  the  school.  The  one  in  front 
had  bound  feet,  so  she  came  in  the  sedan-chair,  borne  by 
two  strong  men.  How  would  you  like  to  ride  that  way? 
It  is  February;  but  flowers  are  blooming  in  the  yard. 
Why? 

The  express  train  is  coming  behind,  bringing  the  trunk 
and  l)undle.  That  is  the  kind  of  express-train  usod  in 
Fukien  Province,  where  there  are  no  steam  cars,  and  few 
horses,  and  roads  are  only  a  yard  wide! 

This  school  is  the  only  one  for  girls  among  as  many 
people  as  are  in  the  state  of  Maine.  Some  ladies  in 
America  sent  the  lady-teachers  to  carry  on  this  school. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MOON  FAIRY,  MOON  PEARL,  AXD  CROSS- 
PATCH. 

Perhaps  it  wasn't  fair  to  call  her  Cross-patch, 
for  it  wasn't  really  her  fault.  But  how  else  can 
I  make  you  see  the  deep,  deep  wrinkle  between 
her  eyes,  and  the  ugly  droop  about  the  corners 
of  her  mouth?  How  else  can  I  show  you  how 
her  black  eyes  snapped  and  flashed  when  any 
little  girl  came  near  her?  Still  it  isn't  quite 
fair  to  call  her  that  hard  name,  because  reallv 
and  truly  it  wasn't  her  fault.  All  her  life,  since 
the  day  when  the  plague  devil  carried  away  her 
mother  and  her  father,  she  had  lived  with  a 
grumbling  old  grandmother,  and  the  grand- 
mother had  beaten  her,  and  scolded  her  whether 
she  did  wrong  or  whether  she  did  right.  And 
when  you  get  beaten  no  matter  what  you  do, 
one  might  as  well  do  the  wrong  thing  as  the 
right  thing.  I  am  afraid  that  little  ]\Ialea  nearly 
always  had  done  the  wrong  thing. 

For  her  real  name  wasn't  Cross-patch  at  all; 
it  was  Malea,   which  is  the  Chinese  word  for 

31 


32  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Mary,  and  is  a  very  good  name  indeed.  She 
came  one  rainy  morning  in  midwinter  from  the 
big  city  of  Foochow,  or  Happy  Valley,  down  the 
Shining  River  to  the  school  in  Abiding  Joy. 
With  her  came  Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  the 
Duchess. 

The  Duchess  was  Miss  Harwood's  serving 
woman;  but  she  was  a  very  grand  lady.  She 
could  easily  have  commanded  a  regiment.  She 
marched  into  the  big  school  gate  that  February 
morning  with  a  most  imposing  air,  while  the 
wind  howled  about  and  the  rain  came  down  in 
heavy  gusts.  Behind  her  walked  the  two  big, 
timid  mountain  girls,  and  at  the  end,  dressed 
in  a  flopping  garment  made  of  a  bed-quilt,  came 
Malea,  very  cross  and  bedraggled. 

The  Duchess  sat  down  and  began  to  tell  her 
story  in  excited  tones: 

"Ai-yah!  But  I  have  eaten  great  bitterness 
to  bring  these  girls  to  this  place.  Malea,  she 
was  to  be  sold  for  four  dollars,  because  there 
was  no  rice  for  her  to  eat.  But  just  in  the  nick 
of  time  the  lady-teacher  in  Foochow,  Miss  Har- 
wood,  saved  her,  and  here  she  is.  Moon  Fairy 
and  Moon  Pearl,  they  are  girls  from  the  moun- 
tains, a  great,  great  distance!  They  were  en- 
gaged when  they  were  little  to  two  of  our  college 
students.     These  students  are  to  be  preachers. 


This  is  the  kind  of  bed  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl 
had  when  they  went  to  school.  How  would  you  like  to 
sleep  on  boards,  with  a  little  wooden  pillow?  There  is  a 
piece  of  matting,  something  like  floor-matting,  over  the 
boards;  and  in  the  winter,  a  thin  mattress  of  woven  rice 
straw. 

Sometimes  the  pillows  are  little  wooden  or  leather  boxe^ 
prettily  painted;    and  the  girls  keep  their  jewelry  locked 
up  in  these  boxes  at  night. 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  33 

For  preachers  to  have  ignorant  wives,  Ai-yah, 
that  is  not  good! 

"So  Miss  Harwood  sent  me  to  bring  these 
girls  to  school.  I  walked  three  days  to  Moon 
Fairy's  home  to  get  her.  I  walked  over  the 
wild  mountains  where  tigers  live!  One  day  a 
snake  met  me  in  the  road,  and  stood  up  on  his 
tail  to  look  me  in  the  face.  I  said  to  the  snake, 
'Do  you  dare  to  hinder  me  when  I  have  come 
to  save  these  girls  .f^'  And  the  snake,  he  was 
ashamed,  and  crept  away." 

The  Duchess  drank  some  tea  to  clear  her 
throat,  and  then  went  on: 

"Ai-yah,  but  these  girls  were  hard  to  get! 
I  talked  three  days  and  three  nights,  beseeching 
their  parents  to  let  them  come.  Moon  Fairy, 
she  was  afraid;  she  hid  under  the  bed.  But 
after  three  days  and  three  nights  they  were  will- 
ing. So  we  came  down  the  Shining  River. 
The  wind  raged,  and  the  rain  beat  upon  our 
boat.  But  God  protected  us,  and  we  are  safely 
here!" 

Then,  with  many  groans  over  her  woes,  the 
Duchess  went  away;  and  the  three  strange  girls 
stood  in  the  door  of  the  big  pretty  school-room 
and  stared.  Never  in  all  their  lives  had  they 
seen  a  house  so  spacious  and  so  beautiful!  The 
gentle    teacher-sisters    received    them    warmly. 


34  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Even  dignified  Mr.  Pang,  who  taught  the 
Chinese  classics,  made  them  a  courteous  bow. 
The  matron  served  them  steaming  hot  tea,  just 
as  if  they  were  great  ladies,  and  took  them  up- 
stairs to  the  neat  bedroom  where  they  would 
sleep.  By  evening  they  had  begun  to  feel  at 
home  a  little,  as  they  crept  under  the  cotton 
covers. 

Next  morning  when  they  awakened  forty  girl 
voices  were  chattering  like  magpies,  and  the  sun 
was  beaming  gayly  all  over  the  green  hills. 
They  were  shown  the  wash-room,  where  merry 
girls  were  bathing  their  faces  in  hot  water,  from 
a  row  of  bright  basins.  The  big  girls  made  up 
their  minds  that  it  was  a  very  jolly  place !  After 
breakfast,  Malea  ventured  out  into  the  yard  to 
see  what  the  other  children  were  doing. 

It  was  Saturday.  Many  little  girls  were 
washing  their  clothes  in  tubs  on  the  ground, 
others  were  stretching  their  coats  to  dry  on  long 
bamboo  poles;  and  still  others  were  folding  the 
dry  blue  cotton  coats  very  neatly  and  pressing 
them,  ready  to  put  on  freshly  for  Worship 
Day.  Malea  did  not  understand  very  clearly 
about  Worship  Day;  it  seemed  to  be  a  great 
occasion  for  which  all  were  preparing.  Some 
were  drying  their  shining  black  locks  in  the" 
sunshine  out  on  the  court.     Malea  was  taken 


This  is  what  Malea  saw  that  Satu-rday  morning  when 
she  went  into  the  yard  to  see  what  the  girls  were  doing. 
They  are  getting  ready  for  Worship  Day.  The  wash  day 
is  a  real  holiday  for  these  girls  and  they  love  it. 

Do  you  see  how  nicely  bamboo  poles  are  used  instead 
of  clothes  lines?  The  girls  with  the  tubs  are  washing, 
and  those  with  the  basins  are  starching.  Can  you  wash 
your  own  clothes? 

Why  did  not  Malea  know  what  Worship  Day  was?  Did 
you  know  that  half  the  world  never  know  it  is  Sunday 
when  Sunday  comes? 

Wouldn't  il  l)e  lovely  if  all  your  clothes  would  hang  up 
straight  by  the  arms! 


It  is  Worship  Day,  and  the  school  procession  is  making 
its  way,  two  by  two,  down  the  hill  to  church.  Can  you 
find  Mook?  In  front  of  him  is  little  Heavenly  Ability, 
trying  hard  to  be  tall.  The  fifth  pair  from  the  front, 
dressed  just  alike,  are  the  two  funny  little  girls  who  were 
called  the  Twinnies 

Do  you  notice  how  neat  their  hair  is?  Unmarried 
girls  in  South  China  wear  a  bang,  and  when  they  are 
married,  the  hair  is  coiled  neatly  back.  Even  the  poorest 
women  always  have  their  hair  very  neat.  They  do  not 
like  fluffiness  about  the  hair.     They  think  it  very  untidy. 

Moon  Fairy's  hair  was  a  little  curly,  and  she  tried  so 
hard  to  straighten  it  all  out ! 

If  you  are  a  girl  with  fluffy  hair,  and  you  should  go 
to  China,  you  would  be  asked  politely,  "Do  you  ever 
comb  your  hair?" 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  35 

to  the  wash-room,  and  given  a  thorough  intro- 
duction to  tar  soap  and  warm  water,  and  some 
beautiful,  fresh,  clean  clothes  were  provided  for 
Sabbath  morning.  When  Worship  Day  ar- 
rived, she  sat,  very  neat  and  trim,  with  all  the 
other  little  maids,  waiting  for  the  morning  ser- 
vice to  commence.  On  bright  days  the  school 
procession  made  its  way,  two  by  two,  down  the 
long  hill  to  church,  but  this  was  a  rainy  day; 
and  so  they  held  church  at  the  school. 

Alas  for  the  starched  clothes  and  the  tar  soap ! 
They  can  make  a  small  girl  over  on  the  outside, 
but  not  on  the  inside !  For  when  the  hymn  was 
announced,  and  all  the  children  began  to  sing, 
Malea  opened  her  mouth  and  tried  to  sing  too. 
But  Malea  had  never  heard  a  song  in  her  life; 
much  less  had  she  learned  to  sing  one.  So  what 
came  out  of  her  wide  open  mouth  was,  "Wow, 
wow,  wow!"  in  a  high-pitched  piping  voice;  and 
when  the  other  children  smiled  —  for  a  saint 
could  not  help  smiling  —  a  thunder-cloud  came 
over  Malea's  pinched  little  face,  and  a  naughty 
anger  came  into  her  snapping  black  eyes,  and 
she  doubled  up  her  little  fist  and  gave  her  next 
neighbor  a  vigorous  punch,  right  in  the  midst 
of  the  hymn! 

That  was  the  beginning  of  lonely  days  for 
Malea,  for  she  was  nobody's  friend.     Whenever 


36  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

the  other  children  tried  to  play  with  her,  she 
quarrelled  and  fought.  We  must  not  be  too 
hard  on  her,  because  she  had  never  known  any- 
thing but  harshness,  and  so  she  had  never  tried 
to  be  anybody's  friend.  Every  day  the  same 
report  came  to  the  tall  lady  teacher,  that  Malea 
had  not  done  her  sweeping,  Malea  had  not  tried 
to  learn  her  lessons,  Malea  had  quarrelled. 
Every  night,  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  long 
stair,  sat  a  little  disconsolate  blue  cotton  bundle, 
marking  figures  on  a  slate.  She  didn't  care  to 
play  with  anybody;  and  now  everybody  was 
afraid  to  play  with  her.     It  was  Malea. 

One  night  the  tall  lady  teacher  came  down 
the  stairs,  and  seeing  little  Malea  sitting  there 
on  the  lowest  step  marking  figures  on  her  slate, 
looking  so  aloof  and  alone,  she  just  picked  her 
up  in  her  arms  and  gave  her  a  warm  loving  hug. 
Do  you  know,  it  was  the  first  time  in  the  world 
anything  like  that  had  ever  happened  to  Malea! 
For  a  long  time  Malea  sat  still  on  the  stair  — 
quite  still,  with  a  bright,  broad  beaming  smile 
shining  all  over  her  face.  Now  the  next  morn- 
ing a  strange  new  thing  happened  —  Malea 
swept  the  floor  without  being  told!  At  night 
they  said  Malea  had  done  one  of  her  sums  right; 
and  all  day  long  she  had  not  quarrelled  once. 
Malea  had  begun  to  try. 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  37 

Every  time  the  tall  lady  entered  the  room 
after  that,  Malea  beamed  with  a  blissful  smile. 
And  more  and  more  she  smiled  at  other  times. 
She  did  not  change  into  a  perfect  child  all  at 
once,  oh,  no!  But  it  made  all  the  difference  in 
the  world  because  she  was  trying  to  be  friendly. 
Very  soon  the  other  girls  began  to  play  with 
Malea.  One  whom  she  loved  was  a  merry 
little  girl  called  Sunburst.  And  as  the  nice 
white  rice  began  to  nourish  Malea's  thin  little 
body,  her  mind  became  clearer,  and  she  could 
get  more  and  more  of  the  examples  right.  The 
child  she  liked  best  of  all  was  Mook;  he  was  so 
kind  and  so  bright.  He  would  get  all  the  exam- 
ples right!  Before  the  summer  vacation,  Malea 
was  one  of  the  sweetest  children  in  school. 

All  this  time  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl 
were  learning  new  things  as  well  as  Malea. 
What  a  wonderful  place  the  school  was!  Forty 
bright,  neat,  beautiful  maidens,  all  so  busy  and 
happy!  Some  of  the  little  girls  were  having 
their  feet  unbound,  for  their  poor  toes  had  been 
tied  up  tight  when  they  were  tiny  children  to 
make  their  shoes  only  three  inches  long.  Moon 
Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  were  sorry  for  them,  for 
their  own  feet  had  always  been  bare  and  free. 
The  girls  were  so  happy  to  get  the  cruel  bind- 
ings off  forever!     But  there  was  one  funny  little 


38  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

girl  named  Fragrant  Tree  who  was  proud  of  her 
tiny  feet  and  did  not  want  them  to  be  unbound. 
After  it  was  done,  she  sat  down  on  that  lowest 
step  where  Malea  used  to  sit,  and  there  Fragrant 
Tree  rocked  back  and  forth  weeping  and  saying 
aloud : 

"I  am  not  brilliant,  and  now  I  am  not  beauti- 
ful; who  will  marry  me  ?  " 

Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  watched  them 
all  with  intensest  interest.  At  first  they  felt 
very  conscious  of  their  own  untidy  appearance 
in  the  presence  of  these  trim  school  girls,  for 
people  up  in  their  mountain  village  thought  very 
little  about  clothes  and  baths. 

There  was  more  need  of  tar  soap  for  those 
two  girls  than  for  little  Malea,  for  they  were 
big  and  tall  and  were  fifteen  years  old.  It  was 
a  very  grateful  pair  of  girls  who  sat,  clean  and 
neat  for  the  first  day  in  their  fifteen  years,  on 
that  Worship  Day  morning. 

School  was  a  strange  place  to  them  after 
fifteen  years  in  the  open.  Moon  Fairy  would 
climb  straight  over  the  desks  in  the  midst  of 
the  school  session,  without  a  thought  that  she 
was  doing  anything  unusual.  One  morning 
Moon  Fairy  astonished  everybody  by  yelling 
to  her  friend  upstairs,  right  in  the  middle  of  the 
class  hour,  "Moon  Pearl,  bring  down  my  wash- 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  39 

cloth!"  They  sat  in  the  class  rooms  and  simply 
stared  at  the  books  and  pencils  and  sums. 
These  girls  were  not  in  the  least  bit  stupid;  but 
they  had  never  seen  the  inside  of  a  school-house 
before  and  had  not  the  slightest  idea  what  it  was 
all  about. 

But  as  the  days  became  weeks,  their  brown 
hands  reached  out  for  the  pencils;    they  began 
to  try  the  sums  and  found  that  they  understood. 
When  summer  came  these  mountain  girls  were 
among  the   brightest   in   the   class.     And   they 
had  learned  many  things  besides  sums.     They 
had   learned    quiet    womanly    ways,    they    had 
learned  to  keep  their  rooms  neat  and  beautiful, 
and  they  had  come  to  have  a  big  company  of 
loving  friends.     They  loved  Perfect  Flower,  so 
gentle  and  winsome,  and  Loving  Kindness,  who 
always  knew  her  lessons;    and  Fragrant  Tree, 
who  never  knew  her  lessons,  but  was  always  so 
courteous  to  everybody.     They  loved  the  mis- 
chievous Twinnies,   who  pretended  to  have  a 
stomach-ache  one  day,  and  stayed  in  bed  for 
fun!     But  when  they  found  it  wasn't  fun  and 
wished  to  get  up,  then  they  were  made  to  stay 
all  day!     Like  all  the  rest  of  the  girls.  Moon 
Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  petted  Golden  Gem,  the 
tiniest  girlie  in  school.     Of  course  they  liked 
Mook,  —  everybody  liked  Mook!     And  all  the 


40  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

girls  took  turns  in  caring  for  little  Heavenly 
Ability,  aged  five,  who  sat  very  straight,  looked 
very  grave,  and  tried  to  make  himself  appear 
ever  so  much  bigger  than  he  was. 

They  adored  Beautiful  Ruby,  and  thought  her 
the  loveliest  child  they  had  ever  seen.  She 
had  come  in  later  than  they,  and  wept  when 
she  saw  her  father  go  away  down  the  long  hill. 
But  when  she  was  taken  to  the  pretty  green 
parlor  and  the  comfort  dolly  was  laid  in  her 
arms,  then  a  dimpled  smile  broke  through  her 
tears,  and  like  the  children  in  story  books,  she 
lived  happy  ever  after. 

When  the  four  o'clock  bell  rang,  out  went 
Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  with  these  new 
playmates  to  the  big  yard,  and  had  jolly  games 
together.  Strangely  enough,  these  merry  girls 
had  never  learned  how  to  play!  Life  in  their 
mountain  home  had  had  lots  of  work  in  it,  but 
very  little  fun. 

A  great  event  happened  before  the  school 
broke  up  for  the  summer,  It  was  a  rag-bag 
party.  Were  you  ever  at  a  rag-bag  party  .^^ 
Mook  was  the  liveliest  person  at  this  one,  though 
he  uttered  not  a  word. 

It  came  about  in  this  way.  The  tall  lady 
one  day  chanced  to  put  some  scraps  of  cloth 
into  the  school  waste-basket.     In  a  moment  a 


They  kneel  down  to  wash  because  their  feet  are  not 
yet  wholly  unbound,  and  it's  hard  to  stand  on  aching 
feet.     Beautiful  Ruby  is  the  girl  at  the  left. 

How  would  you  like  to  wash  with  feet  all  crumpled  up? 


This  is  an  out-door  study  hour. 

Boys  and  girls  in  China  love  to  study.  Most  of  them 
have  had  no  chance  to  go  to  school  before  and  they  are  glad 
of  a  chance.     Do  you  see  Mook's  smile? 

They  love  to  study  so  much  that  the  teachers  had  to 
establish  a  six  o'clock  rule  in  Abiding  Joy.  that  no  pupil 
should  study  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Do  you 
have  to  have  a  six  o'clock  rule? 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  41 

dozen  little  black  shiny  heads  were  crowded 
about  the  waste-basket,  and  a  dozen  excited 
voices  were  chattering  like  merry  birds  over  the 
scraps.  An  hour  later  the  tall  lady  passed  the 
school-room,  and  here  was  one  wee  maid  sewing 
a  bit  of  blue  calico  patch  on  her  cloth  shoe; 
another  was  decorating  her  Sunday  coat  with 
a  fine  blue  cambric  collar ! 

So  the  tall  lady  planned  a  beautiful  game  for 
after  school.  It  was  a  fishing  game.  Stealthily  a 
big  basket  was  brought  down  stairs  and  placed  be- 
hind the  school-house  wall,  with  Mook  as  guard- 
ian. Then  the  tall  lady  invited  all  the  children 
out  into  the  yard  to  fish.  The  tackle  was  a  long 
bamboo  pole,  with  a  string  attached,  ending  in  a 
safety  pin.  The  string  would  swing  with  a  flour- 
ish over  the  high  wall;  Mook  would  attach  an 
appropriate  "fish"  to  the  pin,  give  a  big  jerk  to 
the  line  like  a  real  fish,  and  then  stand  on  his 
head  in  glee  as  with  a  merry  chorus  of  shouts  the 
fish  was  hauled  in!  Perhaps  the  catch  was  an 
old  shoe,  a  long  stocking,  or  a  strip  of  faded 
ribbon,  or  an  ancient  picture  book;  but  all 
these  things  were  useful  and  precious  to  chil- 
dren brought  up  in  want.  Malea  drew  a  plain 
empty  box  —  the  choicest  possession  she  had 
known  in  all  her  life.  She  went  around  all  the 
evening  holding  the  poor  little  box  clasped  in 


42  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

her  arms,  with  a  smile  that  seemed  to  fill  the 
whole  room. 

Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  and  little  Malea 
were  just  ]) rimming  over  with  the  happiness  of 
knowing  all  these  new  friends.  Best  of  all,  they 
were  learning  about  the  Great  Friend  who 
guides  and  keeps  us  always. 

Just  before  school  closed  the  girls  were  asked: 

*'How  many  of  you  would  like  to  tell  what 
you  have  learned  about  Jesus  to  the  people  in 
your  homes  .f^" 

Instantly  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  were 
on  their  feet. 

Closing  day  came  at  last,  and  Moon  Fairy 
and  Moon  Pearl  said  good  bye  to  all  their  merry 
girl  friends,  and  went  up  the  long  mountain  road 
to  their  homes.  It  was  a  very  excited  group  of 
village  people  who  watched  for  these  girls  as 
they  came  up  the  road  that  summer  morning. 
The  women  rushed  out  to  meet  them.  "So 
white,  and  so  fat!"  they  cried.  They  saw  the 
plump  round  arms ;  they  pushed  up  their  sleeves 
to  see  if  the  fair  sound  flesh  went  all  the  way  up 
—  and  sure  enough  it  did  go  all  the  way  up ! 
Certainly  the  school  was  a  wonder  that  could 
make  two  rough  big  girls  over  into  beautiful 
creatures  like  these!  The  next  fall  Moon  Fairy 
and  Moon  Pearl  came  leading  a  company  of 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  43 

seven  others  down  the  mountain  road,  to  enter 
this  marvellous  school! 

That  summer  Mook  spent  on  the  mountain, 
not  at  his  cross  uncle's,  but  at  the  home  of  the 
lady  teachers,  helping  Uncle  Ding,  the  cook. 
One  day  his  uncle  went  away  for  all  day.  It 
was  a  very  hot  day,  for  Happy  Valley  is  as  far 
south  as  Florida. 

"I  shall  have  to  go  and  cook  the  dinner," 
said  one  of  the  lady  teachers,  and  started  for 
the  kitchen. 

There  by  the  kitchen  range  stood  Mook.  He 
was  just  about  as  tall  as  the  range  was;  and  be- 
tween his  breast  and  the  range  was  a  huge  sweet 
potato,  which  seemed  half  as  big  as  little  Mook 
himself!  Vigorously  he  was  struggling  to  pare 
the  potato,  while  the  perspiration  dripped  off 
his  chin.  He  looked  up  with  a  red  face  and  a 
serious  air  of  responsibility. 

"Shall  we  have  that  meat  heated  for  dinner.'^" 
he  asked.  He  jumped  up  nimbly  on  a  stool, 
and  brought  forth  from  the  cupboard  a  dish  of 
meat.  He  was  too  small  to  reach  the  cupboard 
without  a  stool. 

"I  think  so,"  she  answered,  and  went  into  the 
house  to  hide  her  smiles.  Mook  was  still  so 
little,  and  the  sweet  potato  was  so  big! 

"We  have  a  cook,"  she  announced:  and  they 


44  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

waited  to  see  what  would  happen.  And  what 
do  you  think  happened  ?  At  the  dinner  hour  in 
came  Mook,  hot  but  triumphant,  bringing  the 
dinner,  perfectly  prepared,  and  served  it  per- 
fectly. He  had  done  it  all  himself;  and  Mook 
was  seven  years  old ! 

All  that  summer  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl 
had  told  to  their  neighbors  what  they  knew  of 
the  beautiful  Friend  who  makes  life  over  for  all 
who  are  willing  to  trust  Him.  As  the  months 
rolled  by,  they  learned  more  about  that  Friend 
—  of  the  wonderful  things  He  said,  and  the 
loving  things  He  did.  They  had  felt  the  change 
in  their  own  lives;  and  they  had  seen  the  little 
girls  who  came  to  school  with  feet  all  cruelly 
bound  and  crippled,  freed  from  those  dreadful 
bands  and  enabled  to  run  and  play  like  them- 
selves. They  were  sure  it  was  all  true  about 
this  Jesus,  and  they  were  learning  to  love  and 
trust  Him  and  timidly  to  pray  to  Him  every 
day. 

In  fact,  the  school-girls  were  learning  to 
pray  quite  naturally  about  everything.  They 
prayed  for  help  in  getting  their  lessons.  One 
evening  they  prayed  about  a  show  they  were 
going  to  give.  Why  not.^  Do  you  suppose 
Jesus  likes  us  to  share  all  our  work  and  troubles 
with  Him,  and  never  to  share  our  f im  ? 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  45 

They  had  been  all  atingle  during  the  day 
with  whispered  plans,  but  when  night  came, 
before  the  show  began  they  held  the  customary 
evening  prayers.  Me  Ing,  "Beautiful  Radi- 
ance," led  the  prayers.  She  was  really  very 
beautiful  with  her  fine  dark  eyes  and  rosy 
cheeks.  At  the  close  of  the  hymn  she  bowed 
her  head  and  said: 

"Now,  Jesus,  we're  going  to  have  some  fun 
this  evening.  We  pray  that  we  may  have  a 
good  time,  and  that  every,  thing  we  do  may 
please  Thee!     Amen." 

It  was  a  wonderful  show!  One  little  city 
maid  pretended  she  was  a  fisherman's  daughter 
who  had  come  in  to  see  the  school  for  the  first 
time.  She  had  a  basket  of  crabs  tied  around 
her  waist,  and  every  minute  or  two  she  would 
suddenly  snatch  at  the  crabs  which  were  run- 
ning down  her  bare  legs,  and  put  them  back  into 
the  basket.  Everybody  thought  she  had  real 
crabs  in  the  basket,  she  did  it  so  cleverly!  But 
she  hadn't  at  all! 

Fragrant  Tree  played  she  was  a  Chinese  for- 
tune-teller, and  went  into  a  trance;  she  did  it 
so  well  that  the  teachers  were  alarmed!  An- 
other little  girl  played  she  was  a  Bible  woman, 
and  came  to  reason  with  the  fortune-teller,  be- 
cause   fortune-tellers    are   not   good   people    in 


46  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

China.  Then  Fragrant  Tree  came  to,  and  con- 
fessed to  her  visitor  that  it  was  all  a  pretence, 
this  fortune-telling  business;  and  promised  never 
to  do  it  again !  The  show  was  a  glorious  success 
and  everybody  went  to  bed  laughing  and  happy. 

One  lovely  Easter  afternoon  Miss  Ling,  the 
sweet  head  teacher,  gathered  the  girls  together 
for  a  special  service.  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon 
Pearl  loved  Miss  Ling,  she  had  been  so  very 
kind  to  them  in  all  those  first  days  when  they 
were  so  new,  and  she  never  had  allowed  the  chil- 
dren to  laugh  at  the  awkward  things  they  did. 
Like  all  the  other  children,  they  were  her  devo- 
ted slaves;  and  once  last  term  when  she  was  so 
terriblv  ill,  and  had  to  be  cared  for  in  the  school 
because  there  was  no  doctor,  and  because  there 
was  no  hospital  within  twenty  miles,  they  helped 
to  keep  the  little  children  absolutely  quiet,  so 
that  she  would  not  be  disturbed.  All  the  chil- 
dren hung  on  her  words;  so  they  all  were  eager 
to  hear  what  she  had  to  tell  them  today. 

What  Miss  Ling  told  them  was  made  so 
simple  that  even  little  Sunburst  and  Malea 
could  understand.  Mook  sat  on  the  front  seat 
also,  intently  listening.  She  talked  about  hav- 
ing Jesus  as  a  close,  loving  Friend,  who  lives 
right  within  our  hearts,  instead  of  staying  away 
off  in  the  heavens. 


These  are  the  three  teacher-sisters  whom  the  school 
girls  loved  so  dearly.  The  one  standing  behind  is  sweet 
Miss  Ling,  who  gave  the  Easter  talk  to  Moon  Fairy  and 
Moon  Pearl.  Wouldn't  you  like  her  for  a  teacher? 
I  would. 

Chinese  boys  and  girls  are  very  respectful  of  their 
teachers.  They  would  think  it  very  rude  to  throw  chalk, 
or  whisper  in  class,  or  do  anything  else  to  annoy  a  teacher. 

The  Chinese  are  very  patient  and  able  as  teachers. 
"Jieautiful  Radiance,"  the  teacher  at  the  left,  had  charge 
of  the  .Vrithmetic,  and  Afiss  Ding  laugh!  Music  and 
(  liincse  Literature. 


Do  you  see  little  Heavenly  Ability,  looking  very  grave, 
and  trying  to  be  twice  as  tall  as  he  is?  He  stands  beside 
the  organ.  Moon  Fairy  is  the  smiling  girl  who  looks  as 
if  she  had  something  funny  on  her  head.  It's  just  some- 
body's dumb-bell  —  do  you  see? 

Malea  is  the  girlie  with  the  white  coat  and  broad  smile, 
right  in  front  of  the  teacher  who  is  standing.  Can  you 
find  Cross-patch  anywhere? 

Do  you  see  Beautiful  Ruby's  dimples?  It  is  Perfect 
Flower  who  is  smiling  down  at  Heavenly  Ability. 

What  difference  does  it  make  to  these  children  that 
there  is  a  school  at  Abiding  Joy? 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  47 

"If  Jesus  should  come  to  that  door,  and  your 
eyes  could  see  Him  standing  there,  what  would 
you  do?" 

"Chiang  E  dea"  — "Invite  Him  in,"  they 
said. 

"Now  Jesus  does  stand  here  today,  just  as 
truly  as  if  our  eyes  could  see  Him.  He  is  stand- 
ing at  the  door  of  your  hearts.  What  would 
you  like  to  do.f^" 

"Invite  Him  in,"  they  said  softly.  Malea's 
eyes  were  very  wide  and  earnest.  So  were  Moon 
Fairy's,  and  Moon  Pearl's,  and  Mook's.  Even 
little  Heavenly  Ability,  sitting  very  grave  and 
straight  on  the  front  seat,  imderstood. 

"If  we  invite  Him  in,  will  He  come?" 

"Yes."     They  were  sure  He  would. 

"How  many  of  you  would  like  to  ask  Him  to 
come  in  now?" 

Moon  Fairy  and  Moon  Pearl  were  on  their 
feet  in  a  moment,  and  so  were  Malea  and  the 
rest. 

"Now  we  will  kneel  down,  and  each  one  shall 
say  for  herself:  'Jesus,  forgive  my  sins,  and 
enter  my  heart.'" 

So  they  knelt  down,  and  each  little  girl  softly 
uttered  for  herself  that  prayer.  They  were  very 
earnest  prayers  that  the  loving  Master  heard 
that  day,  and  I  believe  He  answered  every  one. 


48  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


When  they  rose  from  their  knees  there  was  a  | 
beautiful  light  in  the  faces  of  Moon  Fairy  and 

Moon  Pearl.  ; 

"Now,  who  can  believe  that  Jesus  really  did  | 

come  in?     Will  you  rise  and  thank  Him?"  / 

Promptly  but  very   reverently,   Moon  Pearl  i 

rose  and  bowed  her  head.  I 

"I  thank  Thee,  Lord  Jesus,  that  Thou  hast  ! 

come  into  my  heart,"  she  said.  I 

Moon  Fairy  followed,   and,  in  sweet  piping  i 

tones,  Malea.     As  I  looked  at  her  dear  little  j 

face  that  day,  and  for  many  days  after,  I  knew  j 

that  into  her  heart  indeed  the  loving  Lord  Jesus  | 
had  come. 

That     summer     we  heard     something     very  i 
beautiful   about   Malea   that  made  our  hearts 
glad.     We   learned   that   the   cross   old   grand- 
mother wondered  what  it  was  that  made  Malea  \ 
so  obedient.     And  we  heard  that  she  got  the  ' 
children  of  her  neighborhood  together,  and  told  ' 
them  the  things  she  had  learned  in  geography,  i 
and  taught  them  to  play  the  games  she  knew. 
Everybody  loved  Malea.  ; 

Please  forget  that  we  ever  called  her  Cross-  i 

patch!     I    can   scarcely  remember  how  Cross-  , 

patch  looked;   for  she  is  gone  forever,  and  dear  j 

Malea,  everybody's  friend,  has  come  to  stay.  ! 


Moon  Fairy,  Moon  Pearl  and  Cross-patch  49 


MALE  A. 


She  had  cross  little  eyes,  all  flashing  black, 
And  cross  little  brows  that  frowned. 

And  a  cross  little  mouth  that  was  all  awry, 
And  her  voice  had  the  crossest  sound! 

But  Love  one  day  came  where  she  sat. 
And  smiled  in  her  cross  wee  face; 

And  the  angry  lines  all  smoothed  away. 
And  a  smile  came  in  their  place ! 


49 


50  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


A  PLAN  FOR  THE  CHINA  CLUB. 

I  know  some  boys  and  girls  in  America  who 
gave  up  their  Christmas  gifts  and  brought  the 
money  to  send  a  little  girl  to  a  school  like  the 
school  in  Abiding  Joy.  Wouldn't  the  Club  like 
to  give  some  boy  or  girl  a  chance  ? 

If  you  have  never  said  for  yourself  the  prayer 
Malea  said,  would  you  like  to  do  so  today  ? 


Here  are  some  girls 
and  a  boy  who  never 
went  to  school :  — 


and  here  are  some 
who  have  been  to 
school  for  a  year 
or  two.  Can  you 
see  any  difference? 


CHAPTER     III. 

PLUM  BLOSSOM'S   GRANNY. 


61 


DEAR   LITTLE   CLOUD. 

Dear  little  cloud  in  the  sky  so  wide, 
Can  you  see  the  houses,  and  trees  and  brooks, 
And  know  all  about  how  the  big  world  looks 

'Round  on  the  other  side? 
Can  you  see  the  children  who  dance  and  shout 
And  play  together  when  school  is  out? 
In  the  North  and  the  South,  the  East  and  the  West, 
Which  little  children  do  you  love  best  ? 


52  \ 

i 


I 


Here  are  some  of  the  children 
"Who  (lance  and  shouL 

A.nd  pla\'  together  when 
School  is  out. " 


This  is  one  of  the  Grannies.  The  Strange  Being  found 
hundreds  hke  her.  In  all  their  lives  they  had  never  heard 
a  single  beautiful  song,  nor  had  one  happy  day;  and  never 
had  they  once  heard  the  name  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PLUM   blossom's   granny. 

Down  over  the  hill  from  the  big  school  build- 
ing lived  Plum  Blossom. 

She  was  just  a  little  blue  and  white  calico 
bundle,  with  a  pair  of  very  rollicking  black 
eyes  peering  out  of  one  end  of  it,  and  a  pair  of 
very  brown  bare  feet  pattering  out  of  the  other. 
Her  mother  and  father  had  died  long  ago,  seized, 
I  suppose,  by  the  plague  demon.  But  Granny 
loved  her,  as  well  as  she  knew  how;  and  it  may 
be  that  was  just  the  reason  why  the  brown  feet 
had  not  yet  been  squeezed  and  pinched  to  fit  into 
tiny,  little  shoes,  though  she  was  seven  years 
old.  She  lived  alone  with  Granny  in  a  funny 
old  house,  which  was  more  like  a  shed  than  a 
house,  so  filled  it  was  with  great  rice  tubs  and 
dusty  farm  tools,  and  pigs  and  chickens  and 
dogs.  You  would  wonder  where  there  was  any 
room  left  for  Plum  Blossom  and  Granny  to  five! 
But  somehow  they  did;  and  the  wee  girlie  loved 
her  cross  old  Granny  with  all  the  love  of  her 
hungry  little  heart. 

63 


54  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


Plum  Blossom  had  never  been  to  school;  in 
fact,  she  didn't  suppose  little  girls  could  go  to 
school  and  read  books  like  the  proud  boys  who 
made  themselves  so  disagreeable  when  they 
went  shouting  by  in  the  morning.  Every  day 
after  the  rice  was  eaten  for  breakfast  and 
Granny's  errands  were  done,  she  ran  out  into 
the  street  to  avoid  the  frequent  scoldings  that 
used  to  frighten  her  so;  for  though  Granny  had 
a  warm  heart,  her  life  had  been  full  of  hard, 
hard  trials  and  they  had  left  her  with  a  very 
bitter  tongue.  There  were  plenty  of  other  little 
girls  to  play  with,  and  they  got  on  happily, 
except  when  they  quarreled;  but  I  am  sorry  to 
say  they  quarreled  pretty  often.  Plum  Blos- 
som never  troubled  to  wash  her  face  or  comb  her 
stiff,  black  hair  before  going  out  to  play,  nor 
afterward  either,  for  that  matter;  but  then, 
every  other  little  girl  was  just  as  dirty  and  just 
as  ragged  as  she;  in  fact,  she  had  never  seen 
a  clean  child  in  all  her  seven  years,  so  she  was 
not  at  all  ashamed. 

One  day  a  wonderful  thing  happened.  As 
Plum  Blossom  was  playing  jackstones  in  the 
street  with  Pearl  and  Lily  Bud,  a  Strange  Being 
came  by  and  spoke  to  her.  She  was  so  fright- 
ened! But  she  held  Pearl  tight  by  the  hand 
(Pearl  was  two  years  bigger  than  she)  and  to- 


This  is  a  house  very  much  hke  Plum  Blossom's,  and  a 
Strange  Being  is  telling  the  people  wonderful  things  out 
of  her  Book.  The  Book  is  the  Bible;  they  have  never 
heard  of  it  before. 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  55 

gether  they  followed  the  Strange  Being  into  a 
neighbor's  house,  —  a  little  shed  house  much 
like  Plum  Blossom's  —  much  like  every  house 
in  town,  in  fact.  The  remarkable  creature 
seemed  to  be  a  person,  like  Granny  and  the 
rest,  but  so  different!  She  wore  a  long  garment 
that  came  away  down  to  the  ground,  and  a 
pretty  scarlet  coat,  and  a  queer,  queer  thing  on 
the  top  of  her  queer,  queer  hair.  She  must  be 
very  old  indeed  to  have  hair  all  faded  out  like 
that!  Yet  she  seemed  able  to  laugh  and  talk 
just  like  anybody  else.  Plum  Blossom  edged 
a  little  nearer.  Then  she  suddenly  thought  of 
Granny.  Surely,  she  must  come  to  see,  too! 
She  didn't  like  to  go  away,  she  was  so  anxious 
to  see  what  would  happen  next;  but  she  must 
fly  home  and  call  Granny. 

Plum  Blossom's  grandma  had  had  so  many 
disappointments  in  her  life  that  she  had  got  all 
over  expecting  anything  nice  or  different  to 
happen;  but  when  the  little  girl  came  running 
in  all  out  of  breath  and  told  her  to  come  quick 
and  see  the  Strange  Being,  she  was  just  as  ex- 
cited as  all  the  other  people,  and  ran  as  fast 
as  the  stiff  old  knees  and  hobbled  old  feet  would 
carry  her.  And  when  she  got  to  the  neighbor's 
crowded  little  house  everybody  got  up  and  gave 
her  the  best  seat,  because  the  Chinese  people 


56  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

always  pay  great  respect  to  the  old,  however 
poor  or  ragged  they  may  be.  This  pleased 
Granny  immensely,  and  Plum  Blossom  too,  who 
squeezed  up  close,  and  held  her  grandmother's 
hand  very  tight,  and  never  took  her  snapping 
black  eyes  for  one  instant  off  the  Strange  Be- 
ing's face. 

And  what  queer,  new  things  they  were  saying 
to  Granny  —  this  wonderful  creature  in  the  scar- 
let coat,  and  the  Chinese  lady  who  was  with  her: 
that  the  idols  were  only  wood  and  earth,  and  it 
was  useless  to  worship  them;  and  that  there  is 
only  One  in  heaven  or  earth  who  can  forgive  our 
sins  —  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God.  They  said,  too, 
that  there  is  a  beautiful  home  where  God  lives, 
to  which  those  who  love  Him  will  go  by  and  by, 
—  a  place  where  Granny  might  forget  all  her 
troubles,  and  never  be  lonely  or  ill  or  hungry 
any  more.  Plum  Blossom's  eyes  danced  and 
glistened,  and  she  resolved  in  her  little  soul  that 
if  there  was  any  way  to  help  Granny  find  that 
happy  place  she  was  going  to  do  it. 

Now  poor  Granny  had  never  been  to  school  a 
day  in  all  her  life,  nor  to  church,  nor  to  a  lecture; 
she  had  never  been  taught  anything  in  all  these 
years  except  how  to  cook  rice,  and  bind  her  feet, 
and  sew.  That  is  how  it  came  about  that  she 
at  seventy  knew  very  little  more  than  Plum 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  57 

Blossom  knew  at  seven.  But  Granny  did  know 
one  thing  which  many  finely  educated  people 
do  not  know  —  she  knew  that  she  w^as  a  sinner. 
She  knew  that  she  got  passionately  angry  and 
scolded  her  neighbors,  and  that  she  was  not  fit 
to  enter  that  heavenly  home  where  she  so  longed 
to  go.  She  had  tried  offering  sacrifices  to  the 
idols;  she  had  tried  hiring  priests  to  pray  for 
her;  but  it  was  all  of  no  use,  and  every  day  she 
was  haunted  by  the  horror  of  an  evil  death. 
All  this  she  told  the  Strange  Being,  with  tears 
streaming  down  her  wrinkled  old  cheeks;  and 
little  Plum  Blossom's  heart  thumped  so  loud 
she  could  hear  it,  and  she  squeezed  Granny's 
horny  old  hand  in  both  her  chubby  ones.  Then 
they  told  the  poor  old  lady  that  if  she  would 
but  ask  Jesus  to  do  it,  with  a  true  and  honest 
heart.  He  would  forgive  her  sins. 

The  little  girl  couldn't  tell  exactly  what  hap- 
pened next;  but  she  saw  the  Strange  Being  in 
the  scarlet  coat  cover  her  eyes  with  her  hand, 
and  the  Chinese  lady  also;  and  they  talked  with 
Somebody  about  Granny.  And  then  the  dear 
grandmother  covered  her  dim  old  eyes  with  her 
hand  in  the  same  way,  and  talked  to  Jesus  — 
yes,  that  was  the  name  —  and  said,  in  a  very 
trembling  voice,  "Lord  Jesus,  forgive  my  sins." 
And  after  that  they  all  opened  their  eyes  and 


58  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

looked  glad,  and  talked  a  great  deal  to  Granny 
about  this  Jesus  —  how  good  He  was,  and  how 
much  He  loved  everybody,  even  little  Plum 
Blossom  herself;  till  by  and  by  even  Granny's 
sour  old  face  looked  happy  just  a  little.  Before 
they  went  away  they  told  her  that  she  must 
remember  and  pray  to  Jesus  every  day,  and 
must  never  worship  the  silly  idols  any  more. 

"Lord  Jesus,  forgive  my  sins.  Lord  Jesus, 
forgive  my  sins,"  said  Plum  Blossom  to  herself, 
over  and  over,  as  they  went  back,  her  small 
hand  in  Granny's  big,  hard  one,  to  their  own 
home.  She  hardly  knew  what  it  meant,  but 
she  knew  her  grandmother  must  remember  to 
repeat  it;  and  she  knew,  too,  that  the  dear 
grandma  could  hardly  remember  the  words  till 
she  reached  home,  however  honestly  she  might 
try.  So  the  little  girl  decided  to  do  the  remem- 
bering for  her. 

In  the  dark  that  night,  as  the  poor  old  lady 
crept  into  her  hard  wooden  bed  with  Plum  Blos- 
som, the  little  girl  whispered  softly: 

"Granny,  have  you  said  your  prayer?" 

"No,  I  have  forgotten,"  said  Granny. 

"Jesus,  forgive  my  sins,"  said  Plum  Blossom. 
Granny  repeated  the  words  after  her. 

Next  morning  early  Plum  Blossom  asked 
again,  "Have  you  said  your  prayer  .f^"  and  when 


This  is  a  class  of  women  and  girls  learning  to  read,  in 
the  village  next  to  Plum  Blossom's.  This  girlie  in  front 
learned  to  read  the  Bible  in  a  month!  Her  mother 
thought  the  girl's  tiny  bound  feet  were  more  valuable  than 
learning  to  read  books,  so  this  dear  little  girl  was  not 
allowed  to  go  to  school. 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  59 

Granny  confessed  that  she  had  again  forgotten 
it,  Plum  Blossom  taught  her  again.  After  three 
mornings  and  three  nights  Granny  could  say  it 
quite  by  herself. 

Soon  after  that  the  Strange  Being  came  again, 
this  time  to  Granny's  own  house.  The  old  lady 
met  her  with  a  shining  face. 

"Mother  Pan,  have  you  peace .f'" 

"Indeed  I  have  peace!  Jesus  has  forgiven 
my  sins !  I  can  eat  two  bowls  of  rice  at  a  meal ! " 
Granny's  heart  had  been  so  burdened  before 
that  she  could  not  eat. 

"Did  you  remember  your  prayer .f*" 

"No,  I  forgot  it.  I'm  an  old  w^oman,  and 
my  brain  is  bad.  But  my  little  grand-daughter, 
she  taught  it  to  me  three  mornings  and  three 
nights,  and  now  I  can  say  it  myself!" 

After  that  the  Strange  Being  came  very  often 
to  Granny's  house.  She  was  not  really  strange 
any  more,  because  Shining  Lotus,  one  of  Plum 
Blossom's  little  friends,  was  going  to  the  big 
school  on  the  hill,  and  the  Strange  Being  was 
her  teacher.  There  was  a  road  that  went  off 
across  the  green  rice-fields  which  passed  Plum 
Blossom's  house.  Many  a  morning  she  saw  the 
Strange  Being  riding  along  in  her  sedan  chair 
or  walking  upon  that  road  to  tell  these  new 
beautiful  things  to  other  people's  grannies;   and 


6o  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

at  night,  when  she  came  back  through  the  rice- 
fields,  she  would  stop  in  at  Granny's  for  a  little 
visit.  Plum  Blossom  would  come  close  up  and 
put  her  arms  tight  around  her,  and  sit  very  still 
while  she  talked  with  Granny,  for  she  did  not 
feel  shy  any  more.  Sometimes  when  it  was 
getting  dark  she  would  see  a  little  lad  coming 
down  the  hill  with  a  lantern  to  meet  the  Strange 
Being.     It  was  Mook. 

One  afternoon,  after  the  Strange  Being  had 
said  good  bye  to  Granny  and  Plum  Blossom, 
and  was  climbing  the  hill  to  the  school-house, 
she  noticed  a  strange  flag  flopping  in  a  tree 
yonder.  The  sun  was  just  setting,  and  a  golden 
glow  shone  over  everything. 

The  flag  proved  to  be  a  towel;  and  the  sig- 
naller was  Mook.  He  had  climbed  the  tree 
to  watch,  and  was  waving  for  his  uncle-cook 
to  bring  the  picnic  supper  out!  Mook  man- 
aged to  get  fun  even  out  of  his  tasks;  and  he 
loved  more  than  anything  to  help  at  picnic 
suppers. 

In  fact,  the  Strange  Being  and  the  tall  teacher 
found  it  would  be  hard  to  get  on  without  Mook. 
Whenever  anything  was  lost,  the  first  suggestion 
was  "Ask  Mook,"  and  he  would  fly  upstairs, 
and  from  some  unknown  corner  produce  the 
missing  article. 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  6i 

One  day  the  lady-teachers  suddenly  found  a 
centipede  in  the  dining-room. 

"Call  Mook,"  they  both  exclaimed.  Mook 
looked  at  the  ugly  black  wriggling  worm,  and 
without  an  instant's  hesitation  seized  it  and 
throttled  the  life  out  of  it. 

On  a  certain  very  busy  day  guests  were 
announced,  who  were  to  arrive  in  an  hour  for 
tea.  These  were  not  Chinese,  but  American 
guests.  The  cook  was  away,  and  there  was 
nothing  suitable  for  them  to  eat.  This  time 
the  lady-teachers  called  the  washer-man.  He 
was  a  very  new  man  and  knew  nothing  of  cook- 
ing. 

"Can  you  make  a  cake.''"  they  asked. 

"I  think  so,"  he  said. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  let  him  try,  and 
go  on  with  their  teaching. 

In  an  hour  Mook  slipped  into  the  door  bear- 
ing in  both  hands  a  beautiful  chocolate  cake.  It 
was  in  layers,  with  frosting  between  the  layers, 
and  a  delicious  chocolate  fudge  over  the  top  and 
sides. 

"The  washer-man  asks  if  this  will  do  ?"  Mook 
said  modestly. 

When  they  cut  the  cake  they  found  that  it 
tasted  even  better  than  it  looked. 

"I'm  sure  the  washer-man  could  not  make  a 


62  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

cake  like  that,"  the  tall  teacher  said.  "I  be- 
lieve Mook  made  every  bit  of  it." 

"Let's  ask  him," 

So  they  called  him  in. 

"How  much  of  the  cake  did  the  washer-man 
make.'^"  they  asked. 

"He  beat  the  eggs,"  said  Mook.  And  Mook 
was  nine  years  old ! 

Often,  as  the  Strange  Being  went  across  the 
fields  to  tell  the  Jesus  teaching  to  other  grannies 
like  Plum  Blossom's,  Mook  went  with  her  to 
carry  her  books  and  umbrella  and  to  help  her. 
He  was  always  quick  to  see  quiet  ways  to  be 
helpful.  One  evening  they  were  climbing  a 
hill  which  looked  out  over  the  sea.  A  great 
silver  moon  flooded  the  mountains  and  plains 
and  the  sea  with  glorious  light.  Usually  Mook 
walked  behind  her  in  silence;  but  tonight  he 
spoke : 

"Lady-teacher,"  said  he,  "does  the  moon 
shine  in  your  country,  in  Great  America,  as  it 
shines  in  our  country  .f^" 

"Yes,  it  shines  in  America  as  it  does  in  your 
country;  but  when  the  moon  shines  here  the 
sun  shines  in  America,  and  when  the  sun  shines 
here  the  moon  shines  in  America." 

Mook  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

"Lady-teacher,"  he  asked,   "when  you  first 


This  is  Mook  at  the  time  when  he  made  the  chocolate 
cake;  and  the  man  standing  is  the  washer-man  who  beat 
the  eggs.  Do  you  see  the  washer-man's  queue,  tied  round 
his  head?  At  this  time  Mook  wore  his  hair  in  a  queue,  as 
the  Chinese  were  obhged  to  do  when  China  was  governed 
by  a  Manchu  emperor.  But  in  1911  there  was  a  Revo- 
hit  ion,  and  China  became  a  repubHc.  Since  then  the 
Chinese  boys  have  been  free  to  cut  their  hair  as  American 
boys  do,  and  they  hke  it  \ery  much. 

Wouldn't  you  Hke  a  ride  on  Guenivere? 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  63 


came  to  China  —  the  first  few  days   —  weren't 
you  sleepy  in  the  daytime?" 

Another  evening  when  the  moon  was  not  shin- 
ing, the  Strange  Being  came  to  Granny's  house 
to  call.  There  was  no  light  in  the  house,  and 
she  thought  Plum  Blossom  and  Granny  were  in 
bed,  but  she  could  hear  them  talking  inside  the 
house,  so  she  knocked  at  the  door.  Granny 
opened  the  door,  and  there  they  were,  talking 
in  the  dark!  She  found  that  all  the  neighbors 
were  doing  the  same  thing  —  sitting  in  the  dark ! 
The  reason  why  they  were  sitting  in  the  dark 
was  not  because  there  are  no  lights  in  China. 
In  Happy  Valley  there  are  electric  lights;  and 
all  over  China  there  is  kerosene  to  be  had,  if 
people  can  afford  it;  and  most  people  use 
candles.  But  candles  cost  one  cash  each,  and 
Granny  and  Plum  Blossom  were  poor.  It  takes 
ten  or  twenty  cash  to  make  an  American  cent. 
And  because  they  did  not  wish  to  spend  the 
money,  they  sat  and  talked  in  the  dark.  Plum 
Blossom  hastened  to  light  a  candle,  and  re- 
ceived the  Strange  Being  with  all  the  gracious 
courtesy  which  even  the  poorest  Chinese  peo- 
ple know  so  well  how  to  show,  and  they  talked 
over  all  that  had  happened  to  Granny  since 
they  had  met  before.  Granny's  dear  old  face 
smiled    all    over    when    she    saw    the    Strange 


64  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Being;  but  it  wasn't  unusual  now  to  see 
Granny  smile. 

For  things  were  very  different  now  for  Granny. 
Before  she  had  heard  of  Jesus,  she  was  wretched 
all  day  because  she  was  afraid.  She  was  afraid 
of  the  dark.  She  was  afraid  of  the  demons,  who 
lurked  everywhere.  But  now  the  loving  Mas- 
ter had  heard  her  prayer,  and  taken  her  burden 
of  sin  away,  and  she  was  not  afraid  any  longer. 
The  hideous  idols  were  put  away;  she  did  not 
have  to  spend  money  to  buy  offerings  of  idol- 
paper  inoney  and  incense  for  them,  as  she  had 
done  for  so  many  years.  Every  morning  and 
night  she  and  Plum  Blossom  repeated  the  prayer, 
"Jesus,  forgive  my  sins,"  and  they  said  it 
always  when  they  ate  their  rice,  for  it  was  the 
only  little  prayer  they  knew.  And  if  they  were 
very  hungry,  and  forgot  to  pray  until  they  were 
nearly  through  eating,  they  would  put  the 
prayer  in  at  the  end  of  the  meal. 

That  night  Granny  told  the  Strange  Being 
how  she  had  been  out  telling  the  neighbors 
about  the  new  joy  that  had  come  to  her;  but 
they  said  she  was  getting  old  and  wrong  in  her 
mind.  So  she  prayed  for  them;  she  had  her 
petitions  counted  off  on  her  horny  old  hand; 
she  repeated  her  prayer  over  to  the  Strange 
Being  to  see  if  it  was  right: 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  65 

"Jesus,  forgive  me,  Pau  Mil's  sins." 
Here  she  turned  down  her  stiff  old  thumb. 
"Jesus,  forgive  Teacher  Wor's  sins." 
This  was  the  Strange  Being.     With  this  prayer 
she  bent  down  her  forefinger, 

"Jesus,  forgive  Teacher  Ning's  sins." 
This  was  the  tall  teacher.     The  third  finger 
was  bent  down. 

"Jesus,  forgive  the  old  lady's  sins." 
This  was  a  dear  old  woman  of  ninety-six,  who 
had  just  begun  to  believe. 

"Jesus,  forgive  all  my  relatives'  sins.  That's 
all!" 

And  what  do  you  think  .^  The  same  thing 
that  happened  to  Granny  had  happened  to 
Pearl's  grandmother,  too.  One  Sabbath  after- 
noon the  two  ladies  sat  together  with  the  sun- 
light pouring  down  on  their  white  heads,  and 
talked  of  the  beautiful  Home  to  which  they 
were  soon  to  go. 

"  We  have  it  all  planned ! "  Granny  said  to  the 
Strange  Being,  "we  are  going  to  sit  close  beside 
the  gate  of  Heaven ;  and  when  the  Lady  Teacher 
is  a  hundred  years  old,  and  comes  to  Heaven, 
we're  going  to  run  down  the  path,  hand  in 
hand,  to  meet  you,  just  like  this!"  The  two 
old  people  ran  off  as  fast  as  their  hobbling  feet 
would  take  them,  to  show  how  it  would  be  done. 


66  Mook.  a  True  Tale 


Over  the  way  lived  the  Chinese  lady  who  had 
talked  on  that  first  day  to  Granny.     She  came  | 

now  very  often  to  Granny's  house  to  talk  with  I 
her  about  Jesus,  and  with  her  came  Shining  I 
Lotus,  her  little  girl.     Shining  Lotus  told  won-  i 

derful  tales  about  the  happy  school  on  the  hill, 
and  merry  little  Mook,  and  the  fishing  party;  ; 

Plum  Blossom  wanted  to  go!  And  one  day  a  i 
lady  in  Ameri'ca  sent  some  money  so  that  Plum  j 
Blossom  could  join  the  happy  group  in  the  ■ 
school  on  the  hill. 

So  Plum  Blossom  trudged  off  with  Shining         ' 
Lotus  up  the  long  hill  to  school,  and  Granny  j 

was  left  alone.     But  she  was  not  truly  alone         ; 
ever  any  more,  for  the  dear  Master  made  Him-         i 
self  very  real  to  Granny.     Besides,  she  hadn't  a 
harsh  tongue  any  longer,  and  all  the  neighbors  ' 

loved  her.  I 

One  day  Granny  fell  very  ill.  The  neigh- 
bors did  their  best;  but  there  was  no  doctor  to  : 
be  called ;  the  nearest  hospital  was  twenty  miles  ; 
away,  and  it  takes  a  day  or  two  to  go  twenty 
miles  in  that  part  of  China.  But  though  there  ! 
was  no  doctor,  God  sent  a  shining  angel  to  lead  ' 
dear  Granny  home  to  Himself.                                         ; 

So  in  the  Master's  crown  Plum  Blosson  has  i 

already   placed    one   lovely   white   star,    which 
stands  for  Granny.  ; 


i 


Do  you  remember  your  first  day  at  school? 

This  is  Pkun  Blossom  just  coming  into  the  school 
yard,  led  by  Bright  Lotus.  She  has  all  her  outfit  in  the 
bundle.  There  is  another  dress  for  every  day  wear.  For 
she  has  her  Sunday  frock  on;  there  is  a  pair  of  shoes  with 
thick  wooden  soles  to  wear  in  the  rain;  and  there  are  two 
old  suits  of  clothes  to  wear  at  night.  When  school  girls 
roll  up  in  their  cotton  comforts  at  night,  they  wear  old 
faded  day-time  dresses,  all  clean  and  whole,  instead  of 
frilly  white  nighties.  Besides  these  things  she  has  a 
comb,  and  a  towel,  two  handkerchiefs,  and  a  bit  of  soap. 
These  arc  all  the  things  she  owns. 


SUMMER    BROOK 

Down  where  the  suininer  brook 

Leaps  in  the  dell. 
There  lives  Bright  Lotus 

And  I  love  her  well. 

Scarlet  azaleas 

Gleam  bright  on  the  hills, 
Dragon-flies  hover 

And  dart  o'er  the  rills; 

Under  the  boughs 

Of  the  big  banyan  tree 

Violets  are  blooming 
For  Lotus  and  me. 

Down  where  the  summer  brook 

TiCaps  in  the  dell. 
There  lives  Bright  Lotus, 

And  I  love  her  well! 


Plum  Blossom's  Granny  67 

SOMETHING  ELSE  FOR  THE  CHINA  CLUB 

TO  DO. 

I  know  a  Club  in  America  who  got  together 
once  every  month  and  prepared  cards  to  hang 
up  in  houses  like  Granny's  house.  They  took  a 
stiff  mounting  paper,  and  pasted  on  a  picture, 
leaving  a  space  for  a  Bible  verse,  and  tying  a 
piece  of  ribbon  in  the  top  to  hang  it  up  by.  If 
the  picture  was  a  red  rose,  they  put  in  a  red 
ribbon;  and  if  it  was  a  girl  with  a  blue  dress, 
they  put  in  a  blue  ribbon.  And  they  sent  them 
all  to  China  for  women  like  Granny  to  hang  in 
their  homes. 

Now  when  these  women  like  Granny  got  the 
pictures  they  were  wonderfully  happy  and  hung 
them  up  and  showed  them  to  all  the  neighbors; 
and  they  were  very  grateful  to  the  girls  and 
boys  who  prepared  them  so  tastefully. 

Can  you  find  cards  that  will  make  some 
Granny  happy  ?  And  can  you,  at  some  of  your 
Club  meetings,  arrange  them  nicely  to  hang  up, 
as  that  Club  did  ? 


CHAPTER   IV. 
TEN-CENT   SISTER. 


69 


BAD   LITTLE   CLOUD. 

Bad  little  cloud,  go  back  to  bed  ! 
You  should  not  be  out  after  candle  light 

Roaming  around  in  your  night-robes  white. 
Our  play  is  over;  our  prayers  are  said; 

Bad  little  cloud,  go  back  to  bed ! 


7C 


This  is  Mrs.  Wiggs  and  Ten-Cent  Sister,  sitting  in 
front  of  their  raft  house.  They  are  enjoying  the  morning 
sunshine  on  their  front  door-step,  also  having  their  pic- 
ture taken  for  you! 

The  chickens  are  also  having  a  sun  bath  in  their  airy 
house.     Can  you  see  them,  in  the  basket? 

When  the  Chinese  children  want  to  call  the  chickens 
they  never  say  "Biddie,  Biddie"  as  we  do.  They  would 
say  "Whoop!"  and  the  chickens  come.  And  if  they 
wish  to  call  a  cat  they  never  say  "Kittie,  Kittie!"  They 
say  "Mee-mee,  mee-mee!" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TEN-CENT    SISTER. 


a ' 


Dear  me!  Five  cents  at  one  gulp!" 
^Irs.  AAiggs's  face  fell  sadly  as  she  looked  at 
Little  Brother.  But  Little  Brother  sat  on  the 
edge  of  the  boat  wearing  a  gleeful  grin.  The 
bun  was  good;  the  bun  was  his;  why  not  take  it 
down  in  one  blissful  gulp  ?  You  can't  ask  a  lad 
of  four  to  know  just  how  hard  five  cents  comes. 
The  bun  had  been  earned  last  Sunday  by 
going  to  church.  Mrs.  Wiggs-of-the-Sampan 
had  promised  to  go,  had  combed  her  shining 
black  hair  to  the  perfection  of  neatness,  had 
borrowed  a  clean  garment,  and  was  ready;  but 
Little  Brother  had  refused.  And  Little  Brother 
was  too  mischievous  to  be  left  at  home.  He 
was  only  four  —  quite  below  the  age  when 
clothes  matter  in  China.  Yet  Little  Brother 
objected.  He  refused  to  go  because  he  had  no 
pants. 

It  was  a  blistering  summer  day,  but  Mrs. 
Wiggs,  ^who  was  always  ready  to  meet  a  diffi- 
culty, brought  forth  a  long,  wadded  coat  be- 

71 


72  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

longing  to  Big  Brother,  and  I  told  the  little  lad 
that  if  he  would  button  this  coat  down  to  his 
ankles  he  would  be  quite  proper,  and  he  should 
have  a  luscious  bun  as  a  reward.  So  he  went 
—  unwilling,  perspiring,  tearful,  and  today  the 
dreamed-of  bun  had  come  —  and  gone! 

Ever  since  I  left  the  dear  school  on  the  hill- 
top and  had  come  to  the  big  city  to  live,  I  had 
loved  Mrs.  Wiggs-of-the-Sampan  and  her  merry 
brood.  Many  a  laugh  and  many  a  heartache 
had  I  known  as  she  rowed  me  across  the  river 
in  her  humble  craft  and  I  learned  the  story  of 
the  week.  On  lucky  days,  her  fares  for  taking 
passengers  across  would  come  up  to  ten  cents, 
and  there  were  six  mouths  to  feed.  Father  had 
been  taken  by  the  cholera-devil,  the  summer 
before.  When  storms  or  floods  beset  them, 
there  was  no  dinner.  The  astounding  thing 
was  that  Mrs.  Wiggs  and  the  whole  troop  seemed 
to  take  poverty  gaily.  My  supreme  distress  was 
for  a  frail  little  waif,  a  child  who  was  not 
her  own,  who  lay  cold  and  miserable  and  half 
fed  in  the  boat  day  after  day.  She  was  one  of 
two  infants  girls  whom  Mrs.  Wiggs  was  under- 
taking to  look  after,  beside  her  own  eight  months 
baby.  One  day  I  found  that  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  this  little  waif  had  not  been 
fed. 


This  is  the  sort  of  Saini)an  house  the  Wifigs  family  Wvvd 
in,  and  rowed  j)assengers  across  the  Shining-  River.  When 
there  was  good  hick,  Mrs.  Wiggs  got  ten  cents  a  (hiy,  and 
when  there  was  a  flood,  she  got  nothing!  How  would  you 
like  to  li\-e  on  a  Sampan? 


Ten-Cent  Sister  73 

"Chaste  Pearl,"  I  cried,  using  her  name,  for 
we  are  friends,  "you  do  not  love  this  child!" 

"Love  her?  Indeed,  I  love  her!  But  there 
are  so  many  of  them  the  love  wont  go  round!'' 

The  week  after  the  bun  incident,  I  came  to 
the  Sampan  home  to  find  Mrs  Wiggs  jubilant. 

"We've  got  another  baby!"  she  announced. 

"Another  baby!"  I  was  in  despair.  "What 
in  the  world  do  you  want  with  another  baby.^" 

"WTiy,  to  be  Little  Brother's  wife  when  he 
grows  up.  And  she's  so  pretty !  Only  ten  cents ! 
Go  and  get  your  little  wife  and  show  her  to  the 
lady!" 

Little  Brother  sat  erect  on  the  boat-rail, 
resplendent  in  a  pair  of  new  pink  pants  he  had 
just  achieved.  If  he  was  to  move  in  high  social 
circles  he  must  have  pants!  And  by  dint  of 
some  scrimping  and  much  labor  the  demand  had 
been  gloriously  met.  It  was  with  great  dignity 
that  he  roes  and  went  to  the  stern  of  the  boat 
to  bring  forward  the  little  stirring  bundle. 
There  he  stood,  aged  four,  holding  his  wee  bride- 
to-be,  aged  seven  days!  It  would  be  hard  to 
tell  whether  pride  in  the  pink  pants  or  the  new 
bride  thrilled  him  most. 

"Isn't  she  pretty.'^"  Mrs.  Wiggs  ran  on  in 
glee,  "for  only  ten  cents?  She'll  stay  in  my 
boat  and  grow  up  by  me,  and  be  my  daughter- 


74  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

in-law;  and  I  shall  love  her,  and  she  will  love 
me,  and  by  and  by  Little  Brother  will  marry 
her  and  she  will  live  with  me  always.  Think 
of  it!     Only  ten  cents!" 

She  was  a  pretty  wee  morsel  as  she  lay  in  my 
arms  in  the  coarse  blue  clothing  —  undeniably 
pretty.  But  look  —  wasn't  there  something 
strangely  familiar  in  that  tiny  oval  face  ^  I  was 
sure  she  was  that  sweetest  one  among  the  three 
I  had  seen  the  Thursday  before,  being  peddled 
on  the  street,  like  cabbages.  We  had  heard 
cries  coming  out  of  a  basket  and  made  the  man 
stop,  and  had  found  three  thrown-away  girlies 
lying  in  utter  neglect,  two  days  old.  It  made 
something  pull  tight  and  hard  within  me  to  let 
that  basket  go  on.  I  think  those  baby  cries 
will  hurt  my  heart  in  heaven. 

"The  parents  pay  him  ten  cents  to  take  them 
away,"  my  companion  had  said.  "Didn't  you 
see  him  a  week  ago  with  two  under  his  arm?" 

"What  will  happen  to  them.'^"  I  managed 
to  ask. 

"Oh,  he  will  sell  them,  if  he  can,  as  slaves; 
or  they  will  cry  themselves  to  death.  Most  of 
them  do." 

So  this  wee  one  had  found  her  way  into  Mrs. 
Wiggs's  hospitable  heart!  In  spite  of  her  other 
three    babies   and    the   love   that   wouldn't   go 


Ten-Cent  Sister  75 

round,  I  looked  at  the  little  darling  and  was 
glad. 

Summer  passed,  and  I  came  to  see  how  the 
Sampan  family  was  thriving,  and  to  get  Little 
Brother  into  kindergarten.  I  found  them  all 
shockingly  thin;  Ten-Cent  Sister,  as  they  called 
her,  was  little  more  than  a  wistful,  wee  shadow; 
but  they  were  all  as  irrepressibly  hilarious  as 
ever. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you  all  V     I  asked. 

"The  typhoon,"  said  Mrs.  Wiggs. 

"The  typhoon.^"  That  seemed  a  queer  an- 
swer!    But  it  wasn't. 

"The  flood  was  on  three  weeks,  so  we  just 
starved,"  she  answered  merrily. 

Little  Brother's  entrance  into  the  kinder- 
garten was  planned  for  next  Monday.  Bright 
and  early  Monday  morning  I  came  with  a 
troop  of  small  neighbors  to  fetch  the  new 
pupil.  His  face  had  been  scrubbed  until  it 
was  well  nigh  unrecognizable,  and  his  cotton 
coat  was  clean.  The  glory  had  long  since  de- 
parted from  the  pink  pants,  and  most  of  the 
pants  with  it;  but  instead  of  trousers,  an  an- 
cient straw  hat  gave  dignity  to  the  hour.  As 
we  were  starting,  a  chorus  from  the  neighbor's 
children  threw  a  temporary  chill  over  the 
Sampan : 


76  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

"Where's  your  handkerchief?  You  can't  go 
to  school  without  a  handkerchief!" 

This  was  a  bolt  from  the  blue.  Never  in 
its  most  extravagant  days  had  the  Wiggs  family 
been  guilty  of  a  handkerchief!  But  there  was 
the  family  towel.  It  was  a  yard  long  and  grimy. 
Wiggs  history  was  written  large  upon  it.  But 
Mother  Wiggs  soused  it  in  the  river,  wrung  it 
out,  and  brought  it  to  Little  Brother;  and  thus 
fitted  for  society  the  young  hopeful  started  up 
the  ladder  of  learning.  Behind  him  came 
Mother  Wiggs,  carrying  Ten-Cent  Sister,  and 
all  were  introduced  together  to  the  fascinating 
delights  of  the  kindergarten.  I  could  scarcely 
say  which  was  the  more  entranced,  the  young 
student,  his  mother,  or  the  bright-eyed  wee 
maid  in  her  arms. 

Shortly  after  this  I  started  a  mothers'  meet- 
ing in  our  home.  The  first  to  arrive  was  Mrs. 
Wiggs  with  Ten-Cent  Sister. 

The  subject  was  "cleanliness  in  the  home," 
and  my  own  house  had  been  specially  polished 
to  serve  as  an  example.  Mrs.  Wiggs  and  the 
baby  girl  went  all  over  the  house  with  cries  of 
delight.  Two  days  later  I  found  the  sampan 
scrubbed  until  it  glistened,  and  a  bit  of  an  old 
yellow  time-table  showing  a  map  of  the  United 
States,  fastened  to  the  wall  for  decoration.     I 


Here  are  some  of  the  little  folks  in  the  kindergarten. 

Do  you  see  the  stool  made  into  a  chair  for  baby  when 
you  tip  it  on  the  side?     Baby  can't  get  out  or  fall  over. 

The  Chinese  are  most  ingenious.  These  stools  are 
made  of  bamboo.  See  how  many  uses  of  bamboo  you 
can  find  in  this  book. 

These  little  folks  are  in  the  kindergarten  learning  the 
same  pretty  games  and  songs  that  we  teach  children  in 
America. 

In  the  kindergarten  where  Ten-Cent  Sister  went  with 
Mrs.  Wiggs  are  many  other  wee  ten-cent  sisters.  .Vren't 
you  glad  they  are  there? 

Sometime,  when  all  the  Chinese  people  know  how  lo 
worsliij)  (iod  instead  of  their  great-grandfathers,  there 
will  l>e  no  ten-cent  sisters  left. 


Ten-Cent  Sister  77 

had  sent  some  cakes  wrapped  in  this  torn  bit 
of  map  to  the  other  children.  And  here  it  was 
—  Maine  to  Kansas  —  upside  down,  yellow,  and 
very  greasy,  but  beautiful,  adorning  the  wall. 

"We  are  going  to  have  it  just  like  the  Lady's 
house,"  she  said  with  modest  pride.  The 
mothers'  meeting  had  struck  in! 

Later  on  I  missed  the  yellow  map. 

"We've  put  it  away  to  keep  till  Christmas," 
they  explained. 

Christmas  brought  honors  to  the  young  stu- 
dent; he  had  made  a  fine  record,  and  won  a 
gorgeous  big  picture  for  the  sampan.  It  also 
brought  a  shining  round  Mexican  dollar,  worth 
fifty  cents  in  our  money,  to  Mrs.  Wiggs.  Joy 
in  the  sampan  knew  no  bounds. 

"How  did  you  spend  it.^"  I  asked  her  after- 
ward. 

"I  didn't  dare  use  it  all,"  she  confided,  "for 
when  the  March  floods  come  there  will  be  no 
money.  I  spent  twenty  cents  for  Christmas 
and  have  put  thirty  away  till  flood-time." 

Wise  Mrs.  Wiggs! 

One  day  I  was  crossing  the  river  with  Nurse 
Blake.  We  had  been  to  see  an  old  blind  lady, 
to  persuade  her  to  come  to  the  hospital  and 
have  the  little  white  thick  places  removed  from 
her  eyes,  so  that  she  could  see.     As  we  landed 


78  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


on  the  bank,  frightful  screams  were  coming  from 
the  sampan.  Big  sister  had  got  a  fish-hook 
right  through  her  thumb,  and  as  she  jerked  it 
about,  it  ached  more  terribly;  and  it  ached  so 
terribly  she  could  not  keep  it  still. 

Nurse  Blake  knew  just  what  to  do;  she 
grasped  the  aching  hand  firmly  in  one  of  her 
hands,  and  in  a  moment  the  fish-hook  was  out. 
Oh,  but  the  Wiggs  family  were  grateful ! 

"That  child  looks  ill,"  said  Nurse  Blake, 
looking  at  the  frail  little  waif,  who  had  never 
grown  strong  enough  to  stand,  and  lay,  white 
and  limp,  in  the  boat.  "She  needs  nourish- 
ment. She  needs  care.  Bring  her  with  me  to 
the  hospital." 

So  off  they  went  to  the  beautiful  clean  hos- 
pital, Mrs.  Wiggs  carrying  the  little  waif  in  her 
arms,  and  Ten-Cent  Sister  trotting  by  her  side. 
It  was  a  big,  clean,  open,  sunny  place,  oh,  so 
different  from  the  cramped  little  houses  on  Salt 
Depot  Street!  Mrs.  Wiggs  sat  and  looked  about 
at  the  kind  nurses  in  their  neat  uniforms,  and 
the  fresh  white  beds,  and  thought  it  might  be 
worth  the  trouble  of  being  sick,  if  she  could 
stay  in  a  place  like  this!  Everybody  looked  so 
spotless  and  so  comfortable,  even  the  people 
who  were  bandaged,  and  everybody  looked 
happy.     There  was  a  lovely  Chinese  lady  who 


Ten-Cent  Sister  yg 

met  each  one  who  came  in,  and  found  out  all 
about  her,  and  told  her  about  Jesus.  After  she 
had  been  given  the  medicine  for  the  little  waif, 
Mrs.  Wiggs  was  loth  to  go  away! 

There  was  one  day  when  I  found  the  sampan 
family,  and  even  Mrs.  Wiggs  herself,  looking 
blue.  I  had  come  to  invite  her  to  a  gospel 
meeting. 

"Have  you  eaten  dinner  yet.^^"     I  asked. 

Mrs.  Wiggs  evaded  the  question. 

"Tell  me  truly.     Have  you  eaten  dinner.^" 

Mrs.  Wiggs  lowered  her  voice. 

"When  there  is  no  business,  there  is  no  din- 
ner," she  said. 

Then  she  asked  me  to  come  and  sit  in  her 
boat,  while  I  waited  for  the  gospel  meeting  to 
begin.  After  we  had  been  talking  for  some 
time,  while  the  little  children  sat  quietly  in  the 
bow  of  the  boat,  I  noticed  a  passenger  pushing 
off  in  another  boat.  I  wakened  to  the  fact  that 
he  would  have  taken  her  boat  if  she  had  not 
sent  him  away.  But  she  had  done  it  so  cleverly 
that  I  had  never  known  it.  And  the  children 
had  remained  perfectly  quiet  and  had  let  him  go! 

"Chaste  Pearl,  how  could  you!"  I  cried. 
"These  children  have  been  waiting  all  day  for 
some  dinner!  How  could  you  let  that  passen- 
ger go,  just  because  1  am  on  your  boat.?" 


8o  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

"Oh,  Lady,  that  is  a  very  little  thing!"  she 
said.  "I  go  to  the  Lady's  house,  and  you  give 
me  beautiful  cakes  and  tea;  but  you  come  to 
my  boat,  and  I  give  you  nothing,  because  the 
money  is  eaten  up  clean  and  there  is  nothing  to 
give.  It  is  a  very  little  thing  if  I  sit  quietly  on 
my  boat  and  talk  with  you!" 

After  that  we  went  to  the  gospel  meeting.  I 
was  sick  at  heart,  because,  without  knowing  it, 
I  had  cheated  those  poor  hungry  children  out 
of  a  dinner!  After  the  meeting  I  noticed  Mrs. 
Wiggs  stagger  as  she  came  down  the  stairs. 

"Chaste  Pearl,  you  look  ill!"     I  said. 

"There  has  been  no  food  for  two  or  three 
days,"  she  whispered. 

And  yet  those  children  had  been  so  polite 
that  they  never  said  a  word! 

You  may  be  sure  there  was  a  good  dinner  in 
the  sampan  that  night!  and  for  many  a  day  to 
come. 

And  where,  all  this  time,  was  Mook  ? 

Away  up  the  Shining  River  was  a  city  called 
Lingering  Peace.  Mrs.  Wiggs  had  never  ven- 
tured so  far  up  the  river,  oh  no!  Her  little 
sampan  would  have  been  wrecked  on  the  rapids 
if  she  had  ever  tried  it,  for  there  are  a  hundred 
furious  rapids  between  Happy  Valley  and  Lin- 
gering Peace.     In  this  distant  city  there  is  a 


This  is  the  big  boat  which  took  Mook  up  the  Shining 
River  to  the  City  of  Lingering  Peace.  The  man  on  the 
back  is  the  captain.  He  has  to  be  a  very  skillful  man,  for 
there  are  many  dangerous  rapids  in  the  river. 


Here  is  the  temple,  with  dragon-tail  points  on  the 
roof,  which  Mook  passed;  and  here  is  the  big  bamboo 
raft,  with  a  hut  to  live  in.  Wouldn't  you  like  to  sail 
down  the  river  on  a  raft  like  that? 


INlook  loved  to  look  up  at  the  high  river  banks, 
never  had  known  the  world  was  half  so  beautiful ! 


He 


Ten-Cent  Sister  8i 

school  for  boys;  and  when  Mook  was  ten  years 
old,  and  too  big  to  be  in  school  with  little  girls, 
he  was  taken  in  a  huge  boat  up  over  the  swirl- 
ing rapids  to  the  school  in  the  city  of  Lingering 
Peace. 

All  the  long  journey  up  the  river  was  full  of 
new  wonders  for  Mook.  He  sat  very  still  in 
the  boat,  and  watched  all  that  happened  with 
eager  eyes.  The  river  was  terribly  swift.  The 
boatmen  had  to  labor  against  the  wild  waters 
with  might  and  main.  Twenty-four  men  pulled 
the  craft  with  a  long  rope  made  of  bamboo,  for 
bamboo  will  almost  never  break,  however  hard 
you  may  pull  it.  The  captain  would  stand  on 
the  high  bridge  at  the  back  of  the  boat,  and 
guide  it  with  his  long  oar,  and  shout  orders  to 
the  sailors  as  they  clung  to  the  bank.  Some- 
times, when  the  current  was  terrific  and  the 
boat  could  not  make  headway,  the  captain 
would  yell:  "Buy  your  coffins!"  Then  the 
men  would  make  a  mighty  effort  all  together, 
and  the  boat  would  bound  up  over  the  rocks. 

Every  moment  thrilled  with  excitement  for 
little  Mook.  He  loved  to  watch  the  skillful 
seamanship  of  the  captain  and  the  crew.  When 
a  difficult  rapid  was  passed  safely,  and  the  crew 
rowed  on  in  quiet  for  a  time,  there  were  inter- 
esting new  things  to  see  at  each  turn  of  the 


82  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

winding  river.  There  were  great  mountains  ris- 
ing green  and  dark  away  up  to  the  skies;  there 
were  wonderful  birds  darting  overhead;  once 
there  was  a  silver  waterfall,  leaping  ever  so  far 
down  the  hill.  Mook  had  never  known  the 
world  was  half  so  beautiful!  Once,  upon  the 
bank,  he  saw  a  magnificent  temple,  with  curi- 
ously curved  dragon-tail  roofs. 

Often  there  passed  him  a  long  raft  of  logs, 
with  a  little  hut  on  it  to  live  in.  What  fun  it 
would  be  to  board  that  raft  and  sail  down 
river,  and  sleep  in  the  little  hut!  One  day  he 
saw  a  man  out  on  a  queer  raft-boat  made  of 
long  bamboo  poles.  The  man  was  fishing,  — 
only  he  wasn't  doing  the  work  himself,  he  had 
four  big  birds  to  do  it  for  him.  Mook  thought 
this  the  funniest  kind  of  fishing  he  had  ever  seen 
in  his  life.  The  Wiggses  saw  this  cormorant 
fishing  every  day,  but  it  was  all  new  to  Mook. 

The  thing  he  loved  best  of  all  was  to  lie  in 
the  stillness  of  the  moonlight  night,  when  every- 
one else  was  asleep,  and  look  up  at  the  soft 
white  clouds,  and  listen  to  the  song  of  the  dis- 
tant sailors  and  the  soft  music  of  the  water  be- 
neath the  big  boat,  and  dream,  and  wonder. 
Where  was  he  going?  And  what  would  life  be 
like  up  there  in  the  school  for  boys  ?  Would 
they    be    kind    to    a    strange    boy.^     Softly   he 


Here  are  the  big  boats  tied  up  for  the  night,  Hke  the  boat 
Mook  loved  to  He  in,  and  hsten  and  dream  and  wonder. 
Wouldn't  you  love  to  go  u])  tiic  Shining  River  in  a  boat 
like  this?  They  are  kept  sj)oLlessly  clean  by  the  sailors. 
You  would  go  up  to  Lingering  Peace  in  a  week,  and  conic 
down  over  the  rapids  in  one  day. 

You  would  come  with  your  heart  iu  your  mouth  all  the 
way,  but  it  would  be  the  most  thrilling  exi)erience  you 
ever  had! 


This  is  Mrs.  Wiggs  having  her  picture  taken  on  piggie's 
raft.  Do  you  see  the  eye  on  the  big  boat  behind?  The 
people  think  that  eye  helps  the  boat  go  safely. 

Do  you  see  the  neighbors  watching  while  the  picture 
is  being  taken? 


Ten-Cent  Sister  83 

prayed  in  the  moonlight  that  the  Heavenly 
Father  would  care  for  him,  and  make  him  a 
good  man. 

And  what  about  Ten-Cent  Sister? 

Today  she  is  a  bonnie  maid  of  six.  The 
Wiggs  family  have  come  to  possess  a  small  bam- 
boo hut  on  a  raft,  with  even  a  tiny  piggery  on 
its  own  wee  raft,  containing  a  pig.  Last  spring 
I  rejoiced  the  family  by  photographing  the  en- 
tire estate,  while  Mrs.  Wiggs  held  piggie  in  full 
view  by  the  ear. 

The  outlook  is  brightening  for  the  Sampan 
family.  This  winter  a  little  girl  in  New  Jersey 
sent  a  dollar  she  had  earned  by  learning  the 
Ten  Commandments  to  buy  Ten-Cent  Sister  a 
coat;  and  now  she  has  a  beautiful  warm  coat 
to  wear  when  it  is  bitterly  cold  in  the  raft-hut. 
For  winter  is  a  bleak  time  for  the  Sampan 
people.  One  of  Mrs.  Wiggs's  neighbors  told  me 
that  twelve  of  her  children  had  died  of  exposure 
on  the  cold  river,  leaving  but  one  wee  maid  of 
eleven.  To  this  little  girl  I  once  gave  a  doll, 
and  found  her  months  afterward  with  only  the 
body  of  the  doll  and  one  leg  left,  but  loving  it 
rapturously  still! 

Mrs.  Wiggs  will  never  forget  the  kindness 
which  sent  Ten-Cent  Sister  that  coat.  And 
Little  Brother  now  has  a  future;   for  eight  little 


84  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

girls  in  a  certain  Sunday  School  class  in  America 
have  earned  each  a  dollar  by  washing  windows 
and  doing  other  real  work;  and  they  are  sending 
Little  Brother  to  school.  By  and  by  he  will 
provide  a  home  that  is  better  than  a  raft  for 
Ten-Cent  Sister  and  Mrs.  Wiggs;  and  they 
won't  have  to  go  without  food  when  the  March 
floods  come;  and  it  will  be  all  because  some 
little  girls  in  America  had  hearts  that  would 
stretch  out  wide  enough  to  take  in  children  on 
the  other  side  of  the  world! 


THE   JOLLY    WIGGSES. 

Down  on  the  Shining  River, 
The  jolly  Wiggses  dwell; 

Just  how  they  live  so  merrily 
I  really  cannot  tell. 

They  have  no  coats  in  winter  time. 
Nor  shoes  upon  their  feet, 

And  scarcely  one  day  in  the  year 
Is  there  enough  to  eat! 

And  yet  they  laugh  and  skip  and  sing 
And  play  that  all  is  well. 

Just  how  they  live  so  merrily 
I  really  cannot  tell! 


Here  are  Mrs.  Wiggs  and  Ten-Cent  Sister  standing  by 
the  Shining  River.  They  have  not  forgotten  their  shoes. 
The  boat  people  never  wear  them.  Do  you  see  that  Mrs. 
Wiggs's  dress  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  people 
that  live  on  the  land?  She  has  on  a  thick  wadded  inner 
coat  to  keep  warm,  and  wadded  trousers.  jNIrs.  Wiggs 
loves  Ten-Cent  Sister  dearly.  The  Chinese  are  devoted 
to  children.  Then  why  are  there  ten-cent  sisters  in  China? 
Is  it  because  mothers  do  not  love  their  baby  girls?  No, 
it  is  because  the  Chinese  worship  their  dead  graridfatluMs 
instead  of  w()rshij)piiig  (Jod.  They  think  it  i.s  neces.sary 
to  give  rice  and  money  and  clothes  to  their  dead  ancestors. 


T'WASN'  TMY  FAULT 

'Twasn't  my  fault  I  was  only  a  girl. 
And  Daddy  was  poor  as  poor  could  be, 

And  there  wasn't  food  in  the  whole  round  world 
For  a  useless  wee  mite  like  me! 

'Twasn't  their  fault  that  they  did  not  know, 
When  they  sent  me  away  with  hearts  so  sad, 

That  to  sell  their  own  little  baby  girl 
Was  wicked,  and  wrong,  and  bad! 

But  somebody  knew,  and  somebody  cared. 
And  gave  me  comfort,  and  clothes,  and  rice. 

And  made  me  happy  the  whole  day  long  — 
Oh,  don't  you  think  that  was  nice? 


Ten-Cent  Sister  85 

FOR    THE    CHINA    CLUB. 

Don't  you  think  it  would  be  nice  for  the  Club 
to  begin  a  China  Cabinet  for  the  Sunday  School 
or  the  Church?  Many  people  are  not  inter- 
ested in  the  children  of  China  because  they 
know  so  little  about  them.  The  Club  can  help 
interest  other  people  by  putting  things  that 
come  from  China  right  where  they  can  see  them. 
If  you  ask  your  missionary  to  send  some  things, 
and  if  you  send  some  money  to  pay  the  expense, 
she  can  get  you  some  things  right  from  China 
for  the  Cabinet.  And  you  can  begin  right  away 
to  mount  pictures  of  things  in  China  for  the 
Cabinet.  I'm  sure  many  of  the  Club  mem- 
bers can  draw  well.  Some  one  might  draw  a 
sampan,  or  make  one  of  wood,  like  the  Wiggses', 
for  the  Cabinet;  and  somebody  else  could  make 
a  nice  map,  showing  Happy  Valley  and  the 
Shining  River  and  Abiding  Peace. 


These  are  children  in  Cliina,  but  they  are  not  Ten-Cent 
Sisters.  Just  how  much  do  you  suppose  their  price 
would  be?  What  would  your  parents  take  for  you? 
What  makes  the  difference? 


V 

4 

4 


CHAPTER   V. 
DAI  KAI. 


87 


THE   SHINING   RIVER. 

What  does  the  Shining  River  ] 

Sing  as  it  whirls  along  ? 

I  sit  all  day  and  listen  —  i 

Listen  to  that  strange  song;  j 

And  when  my  heart  is  happy 
The  river's  song  is  glad;  ] 

But  when  my  heart  is  heavy  ' 

The  song  is  very  sad  ! 


88 


CHAPTER  V. 

DAI    KAI. 

"Save  life!     Save  life!" 

It  was  the  old  man  who  sat  bumping  his 
head  on  £lie  hard  stones  of  the  Bridge.  Dai 
Kai  had  heard  the  hoarse  whine  many  times, 
had  heard  it  all  afternoon,  as  he  felt  his  way  up 
and  down,  timidly  holding  out  the  little  basket 
to  passers-by.  In  the  basket  was  a  tin  can, 
and  in  the  tin  can  were  copper  cash  —  only 
eighty-six.  Let  us  see  —  were  there  not  eighty- 
seven  .^^  Dai  Kai  counted  them  over  with  his 
numb  little  fingers  —  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  forty, 
fifty,  sixty,  seventy,  eighty,  eighty-six,  —  only 
eighty-six.  ^las,  he  was  not  mistaken!  Dai 
Kai  could  not  see  the  cash,  for  he  was  blind. 

Only  eighty-six!  And  it  must  be  getting 
dark,  because  men  were  tramping  back  and 
forth,  so  many  of  them,  on  the  Long  Bridge. 
Soon  there  would  be  fewer;  and  no  more  cash 
would  come  dropping  into  his  little  tin  cup! 
Eighty-six  now  —  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
more  to  get  before  he  could  venture  home !     The 

89 


go 


Mook,  a  True  Tale 


stones  of  the  bridge  were  very  cold;  if  he  should 
have  to  sleep  out  of  doors  again,  he  would  try 
to  find  some  corner  where  the  rain  did  not  come. 
He  could  not  go  home;  that  was  out  of  the 
question,  for  the  Beggar  Chief  would  beat  him 
if  there  were  not  two  hundred  cash!  The  Beg- 
gar Chief  would  beat  and  curse!  Even  the  cold 
stones  and  the  rain  were  better  than  the  beat- 
ings of  the  Beggar  Chief. 

It  had  been  a  long  time  since  morning  —  since 
he  had  eaten  the  bit  of  sweet  potato  that  was 
his  breakfast.  Blind  Mammy  had  cooked  it 
over  the  little  mud  stove;  she  was  deft  at  cook- 
ing, though  she  was  bhnd.  She  was  kind  to 
him,  and  so  was  blind  Daddy,  who  begged  all 
day  on  another  street.  They  would  give  him  a 
corner  of  the  straw  bed  and  a  bit  of  ragged 
covering,  and  a  little  supper,  if  he  could  only 
go  home.  One  hundred  and  fourteen  more  to 
get!  If  he  could  only  shout  "Save  life,"  with 
that  loud  whine  like  the  man  who  bumped  his 
head,  perhaps  some  one  would  notice  a  little 
blind  boy.  But  the  voices  of  those  who  tramped 
by  were  loud,  and  some  laughed.  What  was 
there  to  laugh  at  on  a  cold  hungry  night? 
And  no  more  copper  cash  dropped  into  the 
little  tin  can  in  his  basket.  Would  blind 
Mammy  save  him  a  bit  of  supper? 


This  is  the  end  of  the  Bridge  where  Dai  Kai  sat  and 
begged.  Do  you  see  the  great  stone  piers?  Can  you  see 
the  great  stone  beams,  thirty  feet  long  and  very  thick, 
uniting  these  piers?  How  do  you  suppose  they  were  put 
in  place?  Many  people  have  discussed  this  question, 
but  they  do  not  really  know  how  it  was  done,  the  bridge 
was  built  so  very  long  ago.  The  tide  rises  here  every 
day.  Some  think  these  stones  were  lifted  on  rafts  by  the 
tide. 

It  is  called  the  Bridge  of  Ten  Thousand  Ages  and  must 
be  very  ancient.  The  river  rushes  down  with  such 
terrific  force  that  it  sometimes  breaks  even  these  great 
piers. 

The  little  shed  on  the  bridge  was  built  as  a  shelter  for 
sick  beggars  and  strangers,  that  summer  when  the  plague 
took  away  Mook's  mother,  with  so  many  other  peoj)le. 


Dai  Kai  gi 

Of  course,  Blind  Mammy  was  not  his  very 
own  Mammy.  If  she  were,  it  would  all  be 
different.  His  own  Mammj?^  and  Daddy  had 
been  very  kind,  and  had  given  him  white  rice, 
and  sometimes  luscious  pork!  Those  were 
happy  days,  when  he  was  a  little,  little  boy  — 
when  he  could  see.  And  then  the  dreadful 
plague  devil  had  come,  and  had  snatched  away 
his  real  Mammy  and  Daddy;  and  he  was  sick 
after  that  —  he  could  not  just  remember  how  it 
was.  But  when  he  waked  from  the  strange 
sickness  his  eyes  could  not  see  any  more,  they 
only  ached.  Then  the  rough  Beggar  Chief  had 
sent  him  to  Blind  Mammy  and  Blind  Daddy. 
Oh,  but  those  had  been  happy  days  long  ago, 
when  his  true  Mammy  had  taken  him  on  her 
lap,  and  had  given  him  nice  white  rice,  two 
bowls  —  full,  heaping  bowls,  and  even  pork; 
and  once,  on  a  feast  day,  a  little  piece  of  chicken ! 

The  tramping  feet  became  fewer;  the  laugh- 
ing young  men  had  gone;  even  the  old  man 
with  the  hoarse  voice  who  bumped  his  head  and 
whined  ''Save  life!"  had  given  up  the  whine 
and  shuffled  off  to  his  hovel.  Would  he  have 
any  supper  ?  Though  it  was  surely  a  mistake 
to  sleep,  still  it  made  one  forget  the  ache  in 
one's  feet,  and  the  empty,  empty  hungry  place 
that  seemed  to  ache  too  — 


92  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


"Clink!"  What  was  it!  Dai  Kai  sat  up 
quickly  and  opened  wide  his  sightless  eyes. 
Yes,  it  was  —  a  silver  dime!  The  numb  little 
fingers  felt  it  over  and  over  —  it  was  a  dime, 
one  hundred  cash  all  at  once!  Oh,  that  was 
wonderful!  Surely  he  was  a  kind  man  who 
had  given  so  much !  Maybe  he  was  rich;  may- 
be he  had  a  little  boy  at  home!  Dai  Kai 
struggled  to  his  feet.  One  hundred;  and  he 
had  eighty-six  already;  with  one  hundred,  there 
were  one  hundred  and  eighty-six.  Only  four- 
teen more!  He  would  start  on  the  long  journey 
into  the  city.  Perhaps  he  would  meet  some  one 
else  who  would  give  a  little  on  the  way,  though 
it  was  very  late  — 

Suddenly  he  heard  a  most  unusual  sound. 

"See!     It  is  the  same  child!" 

They  were  strange  words  to  Dai  Kai's  ears, 
and  he  could  not  understand  them.  It  was  a 
woman's  voice.  He  clung  to  the  tin  cup  in 
terror.  Would  they  take  it  away,  with  his 
precious  earnings  ? 

"It  is  the  same  child  who  sat  there  at  six 
o'clock  as  we  passed,  and  now  it  is  ten.  Poor 
little  thing!     Where  is  he  going ? " 

Dai  Kai  trembled  from  head  to  foot  at  the 
queer  English  speech,  and  gripped  the  tin  cup 
in  despair. 


Dai  Kai  93 

"Don't  take  it,"  he  gasped,  "don't  take  the 
money!     He  will  beat  me ! " 

"No  one  shall  take  your  money,"  a  kind 
voice  said  in  his  own  Chinese  words,  words  that 
he  knew.  It  was  a  man  who  spoke.  Dai  Kai's 
teeth  still  chattered  with  fear,  but  he  was  com- 
forted. 

"What  is  your  name?"  the  lady  said  in  the 
Chinese  tongue. 

"Dai  Kai." 

"Dai  Kai,  would  you  like  to  go  to  school.^" 

Dai  Kai  felt  himself  shaking  again.  "I 
have  to  support  my  parents,"  he  managed  to 
say. 

"And  where  are  your  parents?" 

"They  live  in  the  city.     They  are  blind." 

Many  men  had  gathered  about;  but  nobody 
tried  to  take  the  money.  If  he  could  only  get 
away!  The  lady  was  talking  about  a  strange 
thing  —  a  school  for  the  blind ! 

"Blind  men  can  read?"  a  big  man  asked. 
He  knew  it  was  a  big  man  from  the  big  heavy 
voice. 

"Yes,  blind  men  can  read.  There  are  books 
with  letters  lifted  from  the  page.  Blind  men 
put  their  hands  upon  the  letters,  and  they  can 
read  words.  And  they  learn  to  make  many 
things  —   matting,  and  string,  and  rugs;    and 


94  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


they  can  earn  money.  And  they  learn  to  play 
beautiful  music,  and  sing." 

"Blind  men  can  learn  to  read.^  That  is  a 
miracle."     The  men  all  gasped  in  wonder. 

'T  shall  be  beaten!"  cried  little  Dai  Kai. 
The  terrible  Beggar  Chief  loomed  up  angrily 
before  his  mind's  eye.  "If  I  do  not  have  two 
hundred  cash  I  shall  be  beaten!" 

The  kind  man  had  been  talking  to  the  rest 
about  this  wonderful  school.  "The  police 
would  take  him  there,"  someone  said. 

And  soon  a  strong,  big  friendly  man  stood 
beside  him,  and  told  him  to  come  with  him. 

"Don't  take  the  money!"  he  pleaded. 

"No  one  shall  touch  your  money,"  the  big 
man  answered.  "Come  and  have  some  sup- 
per! 

Dai  Kai's  fears  fell  away  in  the  dream  of  sup- 
per. He  heard  the  strange  man  with  the  lady 
promise  to  send  a  letter  —  a  letter  to  the  blind 
school;  but  what  was  a  letter  when  there  was  a 
blissful,  present  possibility  of  supper!  Sure 
enough,  here  it  was,  steaming  hot  rice  like  what 
the  rich  boys  eat,  with  juicy  strips  of  pork  and 
even  sauce  —  tasty  chili  sauce  to  dip  it  in ! 
Dai  Kai  ate  as  if  he  had  never  eaten;  ate  until 
he  was  full  to  the  tips  of  his  chilly  toes;  ate 
until  he  almost  ached,  and  then  ate  some  more. 


Dai  Kai 


95 


Then  he  rolled  up  in  a  big  warm  coverlet,  oh! 
so  comfortable  and  so  warm!  If  only  Blind 
Mammy  could  have  one  like  this !  —  and  slept 
and  slept  and  slept. 

"The  new  student  has  come!  The  new  stu- 
dent has  come!" 

This  was  the  cheery  voice  that  greeted  Dai 
Kai  the  next  afternoon,  as,  after  a  long,  long 
walk  with  the  friendly  man  who  had  given  him 
that  royal  supper,  he  came  into  a  sunny  yard 
from  the  damp  chilly  street.  After  the  cosy 
sleep  under  the  warm  coverlet,  there  had  been 
breakfast,  —  such  a  breakfast  as^  one  would 
never  forget  —  steaming  hot  rice  and  salt  fish; 
more  than  that,  the  man  had  stopped  at  the 
street  cafe  on  the  way  into  the  city,  and  he  had 
sat  up  on  a  stool  just  like  rich  boys,  and  had 
had  a  luscious  dinner  of  vermicelli  and  clams. 
Truly  this  was  a  wonderful  day,  a  day  unlike 
any  other  since  the  Plague  Devil  took  his  true 
Mammy  and  Daddy  away. 

"The  new  student  has  come!  Here,  take 
away  the  beggar  bowl  and  the  long  stick!  He 
won't  need  these  any  more." 

Suddenly  it  dawned  upon  Dai  Kai  that  he 
was  the  student!  And  a  happy  little  boy  came 
and  took  him  away  to  be  washed  and  dressed; 


96  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


and  a  gentle  motherly  woman  brought  him 
clothes  —  yes,  whole  clothes!  Two  bigger  boys 
helped  him  through  the  strange  new  experience 
of  a  bath.  There  was  warm  water,  and  real 
soap,  nice  smelling  soap  —  oh,  he  was  very 
clean!  Not  since  he  was  a  wee  boy  and  his  real 
Mammy  had  bathed  him  on  her  lap  had  he 
been  so  clean!  And  there  were  fresh  smelling 
clothes,  real  clothes  that  fitted  a  little  boy,  and 
there  were  shoes!  Soon  many  boys  crowded 
around  and  talked  in  happy  voices,  and  showed 
him  where  to  go  to  find  the  kitchen,  and  the 
dining  place,  and  the  bed,  and  the  school- 
room. For  it  was  actually  true;  blind  boys 
could  learn  to  read.  Then  there  was  supper, 
another  dream  of  bliss!  Dai  Kai  ate  very  fast, 
lest  he  should  wake  up  all  •  at  once  and  find 
the  food  had  vanished!  He  could  not  quite 
believe  there  would  ever  be  another  wonder- 
ful day  like  this  day,  now  that  he  need  not  sit 
on  the  cold  bridge  any  more  with  the  tin  cup 
in  his  basket,  waiting;  nor  that  he  never, 
never  again  would  be  beaten  by  the  Beggar 
Chief! 

After  supper  the  most  marvellous  thing  hap- 
pened of  all  this  marvellous  day.  The  little 
boy  who  had  led  him  in  at  the  first  and  had 
called  him  the  "new  student"  brought  him  to  a 


Dai  Kai 


97 


big  room  where  many  sat  together,  and  then 
they  began  to  play  the  most  beautiful  music! 
There  were  many  kinds  of  sweet  instruments  — 
not  like  the  hoarse  banjo  his  Blind  Daddy 
strummed  when  he  was  begging  in  the  streets. 
And  they  sang  the  most  rapturous  song.  Dai 
Kai's  little  heart  swelled  as  he  heard  it  —  it 
was  as  good  as  the  supper,  to  hear  this  song! 
It  was  all  about  Somebody  named  Jesus;  he 
had  never  heard  the  name.  And  after  the  song 
a  lady  with  the  gentlest  voice  in  the  world 
talked  with  Somebody  she  called  her  Heavenly 
Father,  and  asked  Him  to  take  care  of  them  all 
—  yes,  to  take  care  of  little  Dai  Kai  and  make 
him  happy.  And  then  the  boys  led  him  to  the 
room  where  many  boys  slept  on  clean,  clean 
matting,  under  clean,  clean  covers.  And  he 
went  to  sleep  and  dreamed  of  eating  a  bowl  of 
rice  as  high  as  a  mountain,  while  a  hundred 
boys  sang  the  sweet  song  about  Jesus. 

"My  little  fellow,  that  eye  is  of  no  use  to  you, 
and  is  only  giving  you  pain  and  making  you  ill. 
I  will  put  you  to  sleep,  and  take  it  away,  and 
then  it  will  never  make  your  head  ache  any- 
more." 

The  doctor's  voice  was  so  caressingly  kind 
that  the  little  lad  would  have  yielded  to  any 
suggestion  he  could  make.     So  Dai  Kai  went 


gS  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

over  to  the  hospital  with  him,  and  let  him  put 
him  to  sleep.  In  the  days  that  followed  he 
learned  many  wonderful  things.  He  learned 
that  the  gentle  doctor  cured  many  people  of  all 
sorts  of  sicknesses  every  day.  They  did  not 
need  to  pay  great  sums  to  the  priest,  nor  hire  a 
man  to  run  through  coals  in  the  streets  as  he 
had  known  a  man  to  do,  nor  to  cut  himself  with 
knives,  in  order  to  induce  the  devil  to  leave  the 
sick  person.  Perhaps  it  was  all  a  mistake  about 
the  devils;  because  the  doctor  looked  at  these 
sick  people  and  gave  them  medicine  every  day 
and  talked  in  a  gentle  voice  to  them,  and  bound 
up  their  sores  and  they  got  well,  without  sajdng 
any  prayers  to  the  devil  or  giving  him  any 
pieces  of  fat  meat.  This  doctor  often  talked  to 
the  Heavenly  Father  as  if  He  were  very  close 
by,  and  asked  Him  to  take  care  of  the  poor  sick 
people  and  help  to  make  them  well.  Dai  Kai 
thought  he  himself  would  try  to  talk  to  this 
loving  Heavenly  Father  sometime,  when  he  was 
quite  alone.  So,  after  the  motherly  woman  who 
brought  him  food  went  away,  he  tried.  He  used 
some  of  the  words  the  doctor  had  used: 

"Heavenly  Father,  take  care  of  me,  a  blind 
boy.     Amen." 

Then  Dai  Kai  seemed  to  feel  strong  loving 
Arms  around  him;    he  cuddled  down  into  the 


These  are  the  hoys  and  their  teachers  in  the  bhnd  school 
where  Dai  Kai  Uved  so  happily.  Do  you  see  all  the  kinds 
of  things  they  are  learning  to  do?  They  make  fine  straw 
mattings  for  beds;  they  make  verandah  screens,  and 
baskets,  and  sandals,  and  string,  and  coarse  bamboo 
mattings;  and  they  learn  to  play  many  instruments. 
Some  of  them  have  fine  voices  too. 

These  boys  would  most  of  them  be  beggars  on  the 
Bridge,  or  some  street  corner,  if  they  had  not  had  this 
chance  to  go  to  school,  opened  to  them  by  the  gifts  of 
Christian  people. 


Dai  Kai  99 

big,  clean  comfort  and  slept  the  happiest  sleep 
he  had  ever  known. 

All  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  golden  life  for 
Dai  Kai,  In  the  first  place,  there  was  enough 
to  eat  every  single  day!  For  weeks  when  that 
lady  with  the  gentlest  voice  in  the  world  met 
him  and  said,  "Have  you  peace,  Dai  Kai?", 
he  would  answer  with  a  radiant  smile,  "I  have 
eaten  very  full!     I  have  eaten  very  full!" 

By  and  by  the  long  hunger  of  years  was 
satisfied,  and  delightful  tasks  with  his  school 
friends  filled  his  thoughts.  There  was  string 
to  wind;  he  learned  to  do  it  very  well;  there 
were  exercises  to  perform;  other  boys  taught 
you  the  motions  so  kindly,  and  nobody  laughed 
if  one  blundered,  for  nobody  else  could  see! 
And  these  blind  boys  seemed  too  kind  to  laugh 
anyway,  even  if  they  could  see.  Then  there 
was  the  music  —  the  nicest  thing  of  all !  The 
day  was  filled  with  happy  duties  from  morn- 
ing to  night;  and  of  all  that  merry  throng  the 
happiest  lad  was  Dai  Kai,  once  a  little  beggar 
lad  on  the  Long  Bridge. 


100  Mock,  a  True  Tale 


DAI    K.AI. 

If  you  were  a  wee  blind  beggar  lad, 
And  sat  alone  in  the  street, 
And  the  chilling  rain  came  drizzling  down 
And  spattered  your  aching  feet; 

And  somebody  came  along  your  way, 
Who  cared  for  a  wee  bhnd  lad, 
And  led  you  to  shelter  and  food  and  hope. 
Oh,  wouldn't  your  heart  be  glad  ? 


Dai  Kai  loi 

A  PLAY  FOR  THE  CHINA  CLUB. 

Wouldn't  it  be  fun  to  plan  a  China  Play? 
AYliom  do  you  know  who  would  make  a  good 
Moon  Fairy?  Who  could  be  Mook?  Who 
could  be  Little  Brother?  Who  could  be  Ten- 
Cent  Sister?  What  little  fellow  can  you  get 
to  be  Dai  Kai  ? 

You  could  make  a  little  play  with  four  parts: 
one  part  about  Mook;  one  about  Moon  Fairy 
and  Moon  Pearl;    one  about  Mrs.  Wiggs;    and 

« 

one  about  Dai  Kai.  You  could  practice  it  at 
the  club  meeting;  and  then  you  might  some- 
time invite  your  chums  and  parents  to  see  it. 
Perhaps  you  could  do  it  well  enough  then  for  a 
bigger  company  to  see,  —  maybe  the  Sunday 
School.  I  know  one  Club  that  has  given  plays 
and  has  helped  children  in  a  hospital  by  the 
money  people  gave  at  the  play. 

In  the  hospitals  in  China  there  are  children's 
beds.  For  twenty-five  dollars  you  can  support 
a  child's  bed  for  a  year,  and  can  give  some  little 
boy  like  Dai  Kai  health  and  happiness. 

You  could  give  your  little  play  and  ask  people 
to  contribute,  and  I  think  they  would  be  gen- 
erous. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THREE   GOLDEN   WISHES. 


106 


GOLDEN   DREAMS. 
Oh,  do  you  know  the  golden  dreams 


I  dream  when  I'm  alone  ^ 

Of  sailing  o'er  the  gleaming  sea  | 

To  a  land  I  have  not  known  ?  1 

To  a  land  across  the  gleaming  sea  | 

Where  noble  cities  rise,  j 

And  young  men  look  out  into  life  I 

With  morning  in  their  eyes  ?  '< 


Young  men  of  hope  and  faith  and  prayer 
Who  long  to  do  great  things  — 

Oh,  when  I  think  of  that  goodly  land 
The  heart  within  me  sings  ! 

Oh,  do  you  know  the  golden  dreams 
I  dream  when  I'm  alone 

Of  sailing  o'er  the  gleaming  sea 
To  a  land  I  have  not  known  ? 


104 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THREE    GOLDEN    WISHES. 

The  first  golden  wish  was  Fair  Jewel's. 

"Won't  you  come  in  and  see  Mama?"  she 
asked  me  one  day. 

She  was  a  most  charming  wee  maid,  as  she 
stood  in  the  doorway  smiling  up  at  me;  the  in- 
vitation was  quite  irresistible.  Besides,  I  had 
come  down  the  street  for  this  very  purpose, 
hoping  some  one  would  ask  me  in. 

Mama  sat  within  her  dark  room,  looking  very 
sad.  It  was  a  room  that  would  make  anybody 
look  sad;  there  were  black  walls,  with  cobwebs 
high  up,  where  you  could  not  reach  them;  the 
plaster  was  broken,  and  so  was  the  furniture; 
a  few  dingy  idols  were  the  only  ornaments. 
Precious  Jewel  was  the  one  bit  of  brightness  in 
the  room,  until  Big  Brother  came  home  from 
his  work.  Big  Brother  was  not  so  very  big, 
to  tell  the  truth;  he  was  only  nine,  and  his 
name  was  Faithful-and-True. 

Mama  was  not  disposed  to  talk  much  to  a 
stranger,  so  I  taught  the  little  children  songs, 

105 


io6  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


"Jesus  loves  me"  being  the  unfailing  favorite. 
As  they  sang,  Mama  smiled  and  looked  happier; 
so  we  began  to  converse.  I  found  that  Daddy 
had  died  last  year  of  the  cholera  —  the  cruel 
yearly  visitor  to  Chong-Seng  Street;  and  Mama 
was  trying  to  earn  rice  for  the  family  by  sewing. 
But  many  days  there  was  no  sewing;  and  even 
if  she  sewed  very  hard,  she  could  earn  not  more 
than  ten  cents.  So  the  little  man  of  the  family, 
Faithful-and-True,  had  to  do  Daddy's  part,  and 
go  out  to  split  bamboo  sticks  for  basket  making. 
If  he  went  very  early  and  worked  very  hard 
he  could  earn  five  cents  a  day.  On  the  best 
days  there  was  fifteen  cents  to  buy  rice  for 
Mama,  and  for  Precious  Jewel,  and  for  brave 
little  Faithful-and-True. 

The  next  Sunday  I  thought  to  myself,  "If  I 
should  go  down  there  and  ask  Precious  Jewel's 
mother  to  come  to  church  today,  would  she 
perhaps  come?"  I  decided  to  try  it.  Salt 
Depot  Street  —  for  that  is  what  "Chong  Seng" 
means  —  was  a  very  busy  place  that  Sunday 
morning.  The  shops  were  open,  quite  as  usual. 
No  one  seemed  to  know  it  was  Sunday.  My 
heart  sank  as  I  walked  past  the  busy  stores  and 
houses.  Nobody  had  ever  heard  of  the  com- 
mandment, "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy!"     I  did  not  think  a  single  person 


Three  Golden  Wishes  107 

would  go  with  me  to  church.  Precious  Jewel, 
however,  stood  at  her  door  with  that  same  win- 
some smile,  and  with  perfect  graciousness  in- 
vited me  in. 

"Yes,  I  will  go,"  said  Mama,  "if  you  will 
wait  till  I  comb  my  hair." 

Now  combing  the  hair  takes  lots  of  time  in 
China,  but  I  promised  to  wait. 

"If  the  baby  were  not  so  mischievous  I  would 
go  too,"  said  a  neighbor,  holding  her  lively  little 
two-year-old  in  her  arms. 

"Never  mind,  they're  used  to  mischievous 
babies,"  I  answered;  and  so  she  brought  out  a 
clean  pair  of  flowered  trousers  and  a  little  blue 
coat  and  began  to  get  the  wee  girlie  ready. 
Meanwhile  another  neighbor  decided  to  join 
the  company,  and  stih  another;  and  two 
men  in  clean  blue  cotton  coats  dropped  in 
rather  apologetically,  and  said  they  would  go 
along.  Before  Mama's  hair  was  combed, 
eighteen  had  joined  the  procession  to  go  up 
the  long  steps,  many  of  them  for  the  first  time, 
to  church. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  since  all  these  folk 
were  new  to  our  ways  of  worship,  and  since  the 
service  was  now  half  over,  I  had  better  send  a 
group  on  in  advance  under  the  guidance  of  Pre- 
cious Jewel,  to  make  the  confusion  less  when  I 


io8  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

should  come.  So  I  planned,  and  they  went  on 
ahead. 

The  two-year-old  baby  proved  to  be  indeed  a 
very  great  mischief;  for  she  smeared  her  face 
with  candies  and  distributed  sticky  bits  all  over 
the  fresh  clean  coat,  till  mother  held  her  out  to 
me  in  despair. 

"They're  the  only  clothes  I  have,"  she  said. 

"Bring  her  as  she  is;  it  doesn't  matter,"  I 
answered;  and  off  we  started.  On  the  way, 
as'  we  were  passing  an  open  shop,  a  woman 
threw  out  her  wash  water  by  chance  right  on 
the  fresh  clean  dress  of  the  baby's  mother; 
and  baby  created  a  great  excitement  by  seizing 
some  cakes  from  a  vender's  basket  as  we  were 
going  by.  But  at  length  we  reached  the  foot 
of  the  long  flight  of  fifty  steps  that  led  up  to 
church. 

Alas  for  my  well-laid  plan!  The  first  dozen 
had  not  gone  into  the  church  at  all.  They  were 
all  outside  the  door,  and  they  were  all  shouting: 

"Here  they  come!  Here  we  are!  We're  all 
here!     We're  waiting!" 

My  heart  went  down.  What  should  I  do.^ 
On  the  way  up  the  long  steps  I  began  to  lecture 
the  children  who  were  trudging  along  clinging  to 
their  mother's  hands.    • 

"Now  when  we  go  to  church,"  I  said,  "we 


Three  Golden  Wishes  109 

do  not  talk,  we  do  not  walk  around,  we  do  not 
play.     We  simply  sit  still  and  listen." 

^Yhe^eupon  the  old  folks  in  the  party  began 
to  repeat  these  instructions  to  the  children :  — 

"When  we  go  to  church  we  do  not  talk,  we 
do  not  walk  around,  we  do  not  play,  we  just 
sit  still  and  listen."  And  by  the  time  we  had 
reached  the  first  company  who  were  waiting  for 
us  outside,  our  whole  group  took  it  up: 

"When  we  go  to  church  we  do  not  talk,  we 
do  not  walk  around,  we  do  not  play;  we  just 
sit  still  and  listen." 

And  I  must  say  it  was  a  model  company  who 
filed  into  the  church,  and  sat  in  perfect  order 
through  the  service.  They  looked  at  me  in 
astonishment  when  some  one  else's  child  did  run 
around ! 

I  do  not  suppose  they  learned  very  much  from 
the  preaching  that  first  Sabbath,  as  most  of 
them  had  never  heard  the  names  "God"  and 
'Jesus"  before;  but  they  were  greatly  inter- 
ested in  seeing  so  many  manly  students  and 
winsome  school  girls,  and  felt  sure  it  must  be 
something  very  important  when  these  people 
sat  so  long  to  listen.  Precious  Jewel  saw  a 
whole  row  of  little  girls  just  her  own  age  all 
looking  so  neat  and  happy  that  it  made  a  great 
hungry  lump  come  in  her  throat.     She  wanted 


no  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

to  sit  with  those  Httle  girls,  and  look  happy  and 
neat  and  clean  as  they  did.  That  was  the  first 
golden  wish. 

After  the  service,  Precious  Jewel's  Mama 
came  to  my  house,  along  with  the  naughty  two- 
year-old  and  her  mother.  They  looked  about 
the  house  and  thought  it  very  grand  and  won- 
derful. Precious  Jewel's  Mama  was  intensely 
interested  in  everything. 

"I  have  not  been  out  of  my  house  before  for 
eighteen  years,"  she  said. 

After  that,  Mama  came  every  Sunday  to 
church,  and  took  off  the  painful  tiny  shoes; 
and  she  went  on  Thursday  afternoons  to  the 
little  prayer-meeting  at  the  wood  merchant's 
house  on  Salt  Depot  Street.  And  when  the 
terrible  battle  day  of  the  Revolution  came,  and 
the  whole  city  was  in  fear.  Mama  brought  her 
two  white  china  idols  and  said  she  would  not 
worship  them  any  more  because  they  did  not 
help  her  in  trouble;  and  that  day  she  gave  her 
heart  to  Jesus. 

Faithful-and-True  had  been  many  times  at 
our  house.  Whenever  I  asked  him  to  do  any 
little  task  he  did  it  so  willingly  and  so  well  that 
I  told  him  he  might  wash  the  floor  each  morn- 
ing and  earn  his  way  in  school.  Every  morn- 
ing after  that  he  came  early  to  the  house;  and, 


Three  Golden  Wishes  iii 

though  he  was  only  nine  years  old,  he  washed 
the  dining-room  floor  very  clean,  and  then  flew 
off  to  his  lessons. 

That  summer  we  came  to  America,  and  a 
little  American  girl  said  to  me: 

"If  I  should  give  you  a  doll  I  have,  would 
you  take  it  to  China  to  some  child  who  never 
had  one?" 

I  thought  of  Precious  Jewel.  How  she  would 
love  a  doll !  When  this  American  child  brought 
me  the  doll,  it  was  so  beautiful,  with  its  big 
dark  eyes  and  real  yellow  curls,  that  I  almost 
wished  I  were  a  little  girl  again  and  could  have 
the  doll  myself. 

When  I  got  the  doll  to  China,  before  I  saw 
Precious  Jewel,  Miss  Blake,  the  nurse,  came  to 
our  house  and  saw  the  lovely  doll. 

"Oh,  how  I  want  it  for  the  hospital  children 
to  play  with,"  she  said.  "I  would  be  so  glad 
to  buy  it;  and  the  money  might  send  Precious 
Jewel  to  school." 

Soon  after  that  Precious  Jewel  was  up-stairs 
helping  Mama  with  the  sewing,  for  Mama  sewed 
so  neatly  that  I  had  asked  her  to  come  to  our 
house  and  do  mending  for  me. 

"Little  Sister,"  I  said,  "a  little  girl  in  Amer- 
ica has  loved  you  so  much  that  she  has  sent 
you  a  beautiful  doll." 


112  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Her  eyes  shone  with  joy.  "Oh,  she  was  ex- 
ceeding kind!"  she  said  softly. 

"But  someone  here  in  China  wants  to  buy 
the  doll  for  the  children  in  the  hospital.  She 
will  pay  seven  dollars  for  it,  and  that  will  help 
you  study  a  term  or  more  in  boarding  school. 
Now  I  will  show  you  the  doll  and  you  can  de- 
cide." 

Then  I  brought  out  the  wonderful  doll  and 
handed  her  over  to  Precious  Jewel.  She  held 
her  in  her  arms  for  a  long,  rapturous  minute, 
and  looked  down  into  her  big  dark  eyes,  and 
all  her  little  heart  yearned  to  keep  her  always! 
Then  she  looked  up  at  me  with  something  glist- 
ening in  her  eyes,  and  held  the  doll  out  to  me. 

"I  will  go  to  school,"  she  said. 

So  Precious  Jewel  went  to  school,  as  well  as 
Faithful-and-True.  Every  night  she  came 
home  to  stay  with  Mama  at  our  house,  and 
every  night  she  had  marvellous  tales  to  tell  of 
what  the  girls  had  said  and  done.  And  every 
night  she  cleaned  the  lamps,  for  fifteen  cents  a 
month,  to  earn  her  school  books.  She  was  very 
happy  after  her  wise  choice  —  happier  by  far 
than  if  she  had  kept  the  doll.  For  had  she  not 
longed,  oh  so  many  times  and  so  eagerly,  to  go 
to  that  beautiful  school  like  the  other  girls, 
ever  since  that  first  Sabbath  morning  when  she 


This  is  the  city  of  Lingering  Peace,  with  the  Shining 
River  flowing  down  the  mountains.  It  was  here  Mook 
went  to  the  hospital  and  here  he  dreamed  the  golden 
dream  that  by  and  by  came  true. 


Three  Golden  Wishes  113 

saw  them  sitting  so  neat  and  trim  in  church, 
and  her  soul  had  yearned  to  be  one  of  them  ? 
And  now  this  rosy  dream  was  realized!  The 
first  golden  wish  had  been  fulfilled. 

The  second  golden  wish  was  Mook's :  — 

Away  up  the  Shining  River,  in  the  city  of 
Lingering  Peace,  a  new  world  was  opening  to 
Mook.  He  was  a  long  way  from  his  kind  uncle 
now,  a  long  way  from  all  the  Chinese  friends  he 
knew;  he  would  have  been  very  lonely,  had 
there  not  been  so  many  thrilling  things  to  think 
about!  Besides,  one  of  the  lady  teachers  had 
come  from  the  school  in  Abiding  Joy  to  live  in 
the  city  of  Lingering  Peace;  and  he  served  the 
table  and  helped  in  the  kitchen  to  earn  his  way 
in  school. 

"Mook,"  she  said  to  him  one  morning,  "I 
have  to  go  to  Foochow  to  meet  some  guests. 
We  need  to  have  the  house  entirely  cleaned  and 
put  in  order;  the  curtains  must  all  be  taken 
down  and  washed  and  starched  and  ironed. 
You  know  that  our  two  new  men  are  just  cow- 
herds from  the  fields.  They  know  nothing  at 
all  about  housework.  Can  you  show  them  how 
to  do  all  this  work  ^  I  shall  be  gone  two 
weeks." 

"All  right,"  said  Mook:  and  he  began  at 
once.     It  was  funny  to  see  the  wee  lad  going 


114  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

about  the  house  with  the  two  huge,  clumsy 
fellows  at  his  heels. 

When  the  lady-teacher  returned,  the  whole 
house  was  cleaned  and  in  perfect  order.  And 
Mook  was  ten  years  old! 

Going  to  school  with  boys  was  a  great  delight 
to  Mook.  He  loved  the  fine  tall  lads  who  were 
bigger  than  himself,  for  still  he  was  very  little. 
How  strong  they  were  —  how  swiftly  they  could 
run!  Mook  went  about  his  household  tasks 
dreaming  of  the  time  when  he  would  be  big  and 
strong  as  they  were,  and  could  do  all  the  fine 
things  they  did.  Every  day  he  would  wash  the 
dishes  as  quickly  as  ever  he  could,  and  then 
run  over  to  school  to  be  with  these  splendid  big 
brothers. 

One  very  little  boy,  named  Dust-pan,  he  liked 
to  befriend,  because  he,  too,  was  so  far  from 
home.  For  this  school  was  the  only  good  school 
for  boys  in  a  place  as  big  as  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, and  Dust-Pan  had  ridden  a  hundred 
miles  on  his  father's  back  to  come.  Across  the 
way  was  a  school  for  girls;  it  also  was  the  only 
girl's  school  in  a  district  as  big  as  Connecticut, 
and  little  Chrysanthemum  had  come  a  hundred 
miles  to  school  on  her  father's  back.  The 
place  Mook  liked  best  of  all  was  the  hospital. 
It  was  a  magnificent  big  building  that  looked 


This  is  Mook  in  the  school-room,  in  the  days  when 
Chinese  boys  wore  queues.  Mook  is  on  the  left  end  of 
the  front  seat. 


This  is  Sound  Virtue,  the  gate-keeper,  who  was  saved 
from  opium  in  the  hospital.  What  difference  did  it  make 
to  Ilhistrious  Light,  his  boy,  who  is  now  in  college,  that 
the  hospital  was  placed  in  Lingering  Peace? 

The  lad  called  Dust  Pan  had  that  name  because  he  was 
a  very  precious  boy,  and  his  parents  feared  the  devils 
would  take  him  if  he  had  a  good  name.  But  when  they 
dare  to,  the  Chinese  parents  give  their  sons  fine  names. 
Sound  Virtue  is  a  Christian,  and  is  not  afraid. 


Three  Golden  Wishes  115 


right  down  on  the  Shining  River;  and  in  it  were 
rows  of  neat  beds,  and  sick  people  could  come 
there  and  be  cured.  There  was  Sound  Virtue, 
the  gate  keeper;  he  loved  to  tell  how  he  came 
to  the  hospital  an  opium  wreck,  and  how  the 
Real  Doctor  had  cured  his  body  and  the  Great 
Physician  had  cured  his  soul;  how  his  wretched 
household  was  changed  into  a  happy  Christian 
home,  and  how  even  his  old  blind  father  had 
crept  to  the  church  and  was  saved.  Mook 
loved  to  slip  into  the  hospital  and  help;  loved 
to  be  allowed  to  give  medicine  to  the  sick 
people;  loved  it  best  of  all  when  the  doctor  left 
some  of  the  real  care  of  sick  people  to  him. 
The  patients  called  him  "Doctor  Mook,"  and  it 
made  him  very  happy  and  proud,  and  his  heart 
swelled  with  hope  that  one  day  he  might  be- 
come a  Real  Doctor,  like  this  good  man  who 
helped  everybody  so  much. 

Long  ago,  in  the  school  on  the  fair  green  hill- 
top in  the  city  of  Abiding  Joy,  Mook  had 
learned  to  talk  everything  over  with  his  great 
loving  Friend;  so  now  he  brought  this  wonder- 
ful new  desire  to  Jesus  in  prayer. 

"The  thoughts  of  youth  are  long,  long 
thoughts,"  and  many  long,  long  thoughts  came 
to  little  Mook  up  in  the  city  of  Lingering  Peace, 
as  he  looked  down  on  the  Shining  River  that 


116  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


lay  like  a  silver  ribbon  in  the  sun.  Suppose  — 
oh,  suppose  he  could  one  day  sit  in  a  big  boat 
and  go  spinning  down  the  Shining  River  over 
the  rapids,  and  then  on,  on,  on,  across  the 
mighty  sea  to  that  great  school  where  the 
American  Doctor  studied,  and  could  learn  to 
cure  sick  people  as  he  did,  and  send  them  home 
happy  and  strong!  How  wonderful  that  would 
be !  Could  it  ever,  ever  come  true  ?  That  was 
the  second  golden  wish. 

There  came  a  day  when  he  did  spin  down  the 
whirling  rapids  to  Happy  Valley.  He  had  fin- 
ished all  the  classes  in  the  city  of  Lingering 
Peace  and  was  ready  for  High  School.  But 
there  was  no  money  to  go  to  High  School;  and 
it  costs  money  to  go  to  a  real  High  School  in 
China.  Mook  came  to  our  home  on  the  hill 
that  summer  to  help  with  the  housework.  Dai 
Kai  came  also,  borne  up  the  hill  in  a  basket 
swung  from  a  man's  shoulder,  with  a  stone  in 
the  other  basket  for  ballast. 

Everybody  worked  at  our  house  that  summer. 
Even  little  blind  Dai  Kai  had  his  duties.  He 
would  take  the  shoes  out  from  the  house  and  set 
them  in  a  careful  row  in  the  sun.  He  could  not 
always  put  the  mates  together,  but  that  did  not 
matter.  And  then  he  would  wipe  them  care- 
fully, and  take  them  back  to  their  places.     He 


And  here  is  Mook  looking  down  over  the  Shining  River. 
You  cannot  see  the  river;  it  flows  in  front  of  the  sc-hool 
building. 


Did  you  ever  see  a  city  with  the  house  roofs  so  close 
together?  A  cat  might  walk  for  miles  over  these  roofs 
and  never  need  to  touch  the  ground! 

This  is  the  city  of  Happy  Valley  and  Happy  District, 
which  Mook  looked  down  upon  from  the  mountain.  Do 
you  see  the  tiny  white  pagoda  in  the  distance?  That 
was  built  a  thousand  years  ago. 

There  are  said  to  be  a  million  people  in  this  city. 
Thousands  go  to  bed  hungry  every  night.  Yet  the  people 
of  the  city  spend  about  five  million  dollars  every  year  to 
frighten  the  plague  demons  away.  The  hospitals  and 
schools  and  churches  are  making  this  different;  and  people 
are  learning  to  use  their  money  more  wisely. 


Three  Golden  Wishes  117 

was  getting  a  little  more  sturdy  now,  after  his 
loving  care  in  the  hospital  and  blind  school. 
Many  weird  tales  he  had  to  tell,  as  the  boys  sat 
together  in  the  cool  evenings  looking  down  on 
the  lights  of  the  city  —  tales  of  the  old  days 
w^hen  he  was  begging  on  the  Long  Bridge; 
tales  of  the  many  times  when  he  had  stayed 
out  in  the  cold  all  night  because  the  two  hun- 
dred cash  had  not  come,  and  he  feared  the 
beating  by  the  Beggar  Chief.  He  remembered 
too,  the  early  days  when  he  was  a  wee,  wee  lad 
and  lived  with  his  real  Mammy  and  Daddy, 
who  had  been  so  kind  to  him  before  the  plague 
demon  took  them  away.  They  had  much  in 
common,  these  three  —  Mook,  who  was  growing 
tall  and  manly  now,  and  Faithful-and-True, 
and  little  blind  Dai  Kai;  for  had  not  the  cruel 
pestilence  left  them  all  fatherless  and  penniless  ? 
The  pestilence  had  returned  that  summer 
with  terrible  power.  Down  from  the  moun- 
tain where  they  sat  in  the  evening  talking,  they 
could  see  long,  long  processions  of  lights  going 
around  through  the  city  streets;  and  they  could 
almost  hear  the  din  of  the  gongs  as  the  people 
carried  the  Five  Rulers  about,  preceded  by  the 
Tall  and  Short  Brother,  hoping  in  their  pitiful 
ignorance  that  these  would  scare  the  cholera 
demon  away.     Every  day  people  came  up  the 


ii8  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

mountain  and  told  of  men  who  lay  dying  by 
the  roadside,  with  no  place  to  go  for  help. 
Nurse  Blake  was  in  the  city;  but  what  can  one 
nurse  do  among  hundreds  of  people  who  are 
dying  every  day  ? 

Mook  told  them  it  was  all  a  foolish  blunder 
about  the  cholera  demon,  for  the  demon  was 
only  dirt.  His  heart  ached  as  he  looked  down 
on  the  sad,  useless  processions,  for  which  the 
poor  people  were  paying  so  much  money,  and 
thought  of  his  own  dear  parents  who  were 
taken  when  he  was  little,  all  because  folks  did 
not  know  how  to  care  for  their  streets  and 
homes.  And  more  and  more  in  his  soul  he 
prayed  that  some  day  he  might  be  able  to  help 
make  these  things  different! 

"Mook,"  I  said  one  day,  as  he  was  filling  the 
water  pitchers,  "I  have  no  money  to  send  you 
to  High  School.  But  we  have  not  hired  a 
washerman  yet;  and  if  you  are  willing  to  come 
to  our  house  and  do  the  washing  and  other 
common  work,  I  will  give  you  the  washerman's 
wages  and  you  can  go  to  school." 

Mook's  heart  leaped  in  his  body.  Oh,  how 
he  had  longed,  dreamed,  and  prayed  about  go- 
ing to  that  fine  High  School!  He  had  learned 
all  about  it;  it  cost  seventy-five  dollars  a  year; 
and    seventy-five    dollars    was    a    mountain    of 


-mW 


This  is  one  of  the  big  school  ))uildings  in  the  fine  High 
School  Mook  wanted  so  much  to  attend.  It  has  a  big 
verandah,  so  that  the  school  boys  can  keep  cool  in  the 
hot  June  days. 

The  boys  in  the  High  School  study  the  same  subjects 
which  High  School  boys  study  in  America,  and  when 
they  finish  they  are  prepared  to  enter  college  in  America. 
But  instead  of  P^nglish  literature  they  study  Chinese 
Classics,  which  are  very  deep  and  hard  to  learn.  They 
study  their  Sciences  all  in  English.  How  would  you  like 
to  study  Chemistry  in  (Chinese? 


Three  Golden  Wishes  iig 

money !     He  turned  a  luminous  face  toward  me. 

"\Yilling!     Indeed,  I  am  willing!"  he  cried. 

It  did  not  matter  to  Mook  that  the  students 
in  the  Orient  think  it  dreadfully  common  to 
work  with  one's  hands.  He  was  earning  his 
way  and  he  was  not  ashamed.  Early  in  the  fall 
mornings  he  got  up  and  drew  the  water,  and 
had  the  washing  well  under  way  before  school 
time.  Faithful-and-True  helped  him,  and 
merry  times  they  had  over  the  tubs.  Precious 
Jewel  was  in  school  also,  and  came  home  every 
night  to  trim  the  lamps,  and  to  tell  the  delight- 
ful happenings  of  the  day.  Little  Dai  Kai  had 
gone  back  to  the  merry,  happy  life  of  the  Blind 
School, 

In  spite  of  his  washing,  the  finest  youths  in 
the  class  became  Mook's  friends.  One  who 
was  especially  dear  to  him  was  Hau  Huang,  a 
class-mate.  Hau  Huang  was  the  son  of  an 
official  in  an  inland  city,  but  he  had  not  yet 
come  to  know  Jesus  as  his  Friend;  for  in  his 
city  he  had  never  heard  Jesus'  name.  Many 
times  in  the  quiet  of  his  room  Mook  prayed  for 
Hau  Huang,  and  many  times  he  talked  with 
him  about  the  Saviour;  but  Hau  Huang  was  not 
convinced.  Still  Mook  prayed  and  longed  to 
win  him.  That  was  the  third  golden  wish  — 
the  goldenest  wish  of  all. 


120  Mook,  a  True  Tale 


Another  dear  friend  to  Mook  was  Lik  Diak, 
leader  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Band.  Mook 
had  joined  the  Band;  and  together  the  two 
boys  went  about  on  Sabbath  afternoons  telling 
the  story  of  Jesus  to  people  in  the  city.  Mook 
also  often  went  with  us  out  into  the  villages  to 
preach  the  sweet  message  of  Jesus.  "Where  is 
that  young  man  who  came  with  you  last  time  ?" 
the  women  asked  me  once.  "You  can  see  the 
lovingkindness  shining  right  out  of  his  face!" 

Most  of  all  jNIook  worked  to  win  the  other 
boys  in  his  own  class,  especially  Hau  Haung. 
Many  of  the  students,  like  this  friend  of  his, 
came  from  wealthy  homes,  and  it  is  very  hard 
for  rich  boys  in  China  to  become  Christians, 
because  their  parents  are  so  unwilling.  One 
day  w^e  planned  a  party  for  them  all  at  our 
house.  We  told  them  beforehand  just  what  it 
was  going  to  be;  we  would  have  a  good  time 
first,  and  then  a  gospel  message,  and  an  invita- 
tion to  accept  Jesus  as  their  Saviour.  W^e  ex- 
plained it  all  quite  plainly,  so  that  no  one  would 
feel  that  he  had  been  caught  in  a  trap.  Then 
we  went  to  work  to  plan  the  very  nicest  evening 
possible.  All  afternoon  the  cook  was  making 
cakes  in  the  kitchen,  with  Mook  and  Faithful- 
and-True  to  help.  And  I  worked  as  hard  as 
ever  I  could  thinking  up  jolly  games.     There  is 


These  are  some  boys  Mook  taught  in  the  City  of  Sweet 
Cane,  wlien  he  went  out  to  tell  the  Good  News  about 
Jesus.  These  little  lads  would  all  love  to  go  to  school,  as 
Mook  did! 

Is  it  Fair  that  they  should  grow  up  iu  iguorauce? 


These  are  some  of  the  students  of  the  High  School,  two 
classes  above  Mook,  when  they  had  entered  Fukien 
Christian  University.  The  boy  at  the  upper  right-hand 
corner  is  one  who  played  the  clock  game  so  successfully  at 
a  party  at  our  house;  the  second  boy  from  him,  beneath 
the  arch,  is  Mook's  friend  whom  he  knew  in  the  school  in 
Lingering  Peace. 

These  students  will  finish  their  college  course  and  be- 
come Christian  leaders  in  China. 

What  makes  the  difference  between  these  boys  and 
those  in  the  city  of  Sweet  Cane.^ 


Three  Golden  Wishes  121 


a  way  of  telling  the  time,  blind-folded,  by  listen- 
ing to  the  ticking  of  the  clock;  nobody  in  the 
world  can  guess  how  you  do  it!  And  after  the 
games  were  finished  and  Faithful-and-True  had 
passed  the  cakes  and  everybody  was  feeling 
happy,  Mr.  Bruce  gave  a  strong  manly  talk 
about  what  it  means  for  a  boy  to  give  his  life 
to  Jesus  and  take  Him  for  a  Friend.  Mook 
was  reverently  praying  in  his  heart  with  all  his 
might  that  Hau  Huang  and  the  other  boys 
would  respond.     Mr.  Bruce  used  the  words: 

"Just  as  I  am,  young,  strong,  and  free, 
To  be  the  best  that  I  can  be, 
For  truth,  and  righteousness  and  Thee, 
Oh  Lamb  of  God,  I  come! 

And  he  asked  all  the  boys  who  would  like  to 
say  those  words  for  themselves  to  rise.  Nine  of 
the  boys  got  up,  and  I  think  the  very  first  was 
Hau  Huang! 

After  the  other  boys  had  said  good-night  and 
had  gone  home,  these  nine  boys  knelt  around 
our  dining-table,  and  each  for  himself  uttered 
his  first  prayer.  It  was  a  very  simple  prayer  — 
the  very  prayer  that  Moon  Fairy  and  Moon 
Pearl  and  little  Malea  had  uttered  on  that 
Easter  day  long  ago  in  the  school-room  in  Abid- 
ing Peace:   do  you  remember? 

"Jesus,  forgive  my  sins,  and  enter  my  heart." 


122  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

Before  they  went  home,  each  one  of  the  nine 
took  another  boy  in  his  class  to  pray  for  and  to 
try  to  win.  Some  weeks  later  I  met  one  of 
these  nine  boys  on  the  street.  The  most  beauti- 
ful light  on  earth  or  in  heaven  was  shining  in 
his  eyes. 

"Jesus  is  in  my  heart,  I  know  it!"  he  said, 
softly. 

Two  years  have  passed  since  that  evening 
that  was  so  supremely  happy  for  Mook  and  the 
other  boys  and  for  me.  This  year  his  class  was 
to  graduate  from  High  School.  All  the  boys 
had  accepted  Jesus  except  five.  These  five  were 
rich,  brilliant,  influential;  every  possible  means 
had  been  used  to  win  them,  but  all  to  no  avail. 
One  youth,  Ming  Tung,  Mook  had  worked  and 
prayed  for  unceasingly,  but  he  would  not  yield. 
Suddenly,  just  before  the  graduation,  every  one 
of  those  lads  yielded  his  heart  to  Christ!  The 
goldenest  wish  had  come  true! 

One  day  our  household  was  saddened  by 
news  from  Dai  Kai.  But  why  should  we  be 
sad?  For  Dai  Kai  was  not  sad.  He  was  so 
happy  to  go!  We  learned  that  even  the  good 
doctor  had  not  been  able  to  build  up  his  weak 
body  so  that  he  could  grow  up,  and  at  last  the 
time  came  when  he  had  to  go  to  the  hospital 
and   creep   into   the   clean  bed   and   stay.     He 


This  is  the  group  of  school-girls  from  Abiding  Joy 
when  they  grew  bigger,  and  went  to  Happy  \'alley  to 
study  in  the  High  School  and  College.  Which  would  you 
choose  to  be  your  chum?  The  first  one  at  the  left  at  the 
top  is  Loving  Kindness,  who  got  the  doll  that  could  "  niak  " 
its  eyes.  The  girl  just  in  front  of  her  is  Shining  Lotus, 
Plum  Blossom's  friend.  She  has  now  graduated,  and  has 
gone  to  the  school  in  Al)iding  Joy  to  teach.  The  short 
girl  in  the  middle  of  the  back  row  is  Perfect  Flower, 
the  first  girl  to  enter  the  school  at  Abiding  Joy.  Now  she 
herself  is  a  most  efficient  and  earnest  teacher.  The  girl 
on  the  end  of  the  bench  at  the  left  is  Golden  Gem.  Would- 
n't you  like  a  share  in  sending  such  girls  into  schools  and 
homes  in  China? 


Three  Golden  Wishes  123 

wanted  to  be  baptized  with  a  new  name,  "Daik 
Hok,"  which  means  "Received  Blessing,"  for  he 
felt  very  sure  the  Saviour  had  accepted  him  and 
forgiven  all  his  childish  sins.  So  they  had  a 
lovely  baptismal  service  all  for  him;  and  after- 
ward, with  a  happy  smile,  he  went  to  live  with 
Jesus  for  always.  He  thought  it  was  the  most 
beautiful  thing  that  possibly  could  happen,  to 
go  and  live  with  Jesus  for  always! 

And  what  of  Precious  Jewel  and  the  rest  ? 

Precious  Jewel  is  now  preparing  for  High 
School.  She  is  as  pretty  as  a  flower,  and  as 
good  as  she  is  pretty.  I  hope  she  can  go  to 
college  some  day!  Many  of  the  girls  we  knew 
in  Abiding  Joy  are  already  in  college.  And  I 
cannot  help  believing  that  a  beautiful  rich 
future  is  waiting  for  Faithful-and-True,  and  for 
little  Brother  of  the  Sampan,  and  for  Ten-Cent 
Sister,  and  for  Heavenly  Ability.  He  is  now  in 
High  School.  He  looks  very  grave,  stands  very 
straight,  and  still  tries  to  make  himself  a  whole 
lot  taller  than  he  is!  The  naughtiest  Twinnie 
is  a  sweet  home-maker  now;  and  Fragrant  Tree 
found  a  husband  in  spite  of  her  tears! 

And  Mook  —  what  about  his  radiant  dream 
of  being  a  Real  Doctor  .^^  He  has  prayed  about 
it  so  long.  Last  year  there  seemed  a  fair  hope 
that  he  might  come  to  America;    but  the  hope 


124  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

faded  into  nothing,  and  I  had  to  tell  Mook  it 
was  all  a  mistake;  he  would  have  to  stay  in 
China  that  summer  and  cook.  Mook  bit  his 
lip  a  little,  then  he  dealt  with  that  disappoint- 
ment as  I  saw  him  deal  with  the  centipede  when 
he  was  a  lad  nine  years  old;  he  seized  it  by  the 
neck  and  throttled  the  life  out  of  it!  Mook 
choked  down  the  rising  lump  and  went  man- 
fully to  his  cooking. 

Last  Easter  Sunday  in  an  American  Sunday 
School  I  told  the  children  about  Mook.  Two 
years  of  prayer,  his  prayer  and  mine,  were  be- 
hind those  simple  words.  At  the  close  of  the 
Sabbath  School,  what  do  you  think  ?  A  gentle- 
man stepped  up  to  me  and  said  he  would  give 
Mook  a  ^college  education  in  America ! 

So  the  second  golden  wish  is  coming  to  pass, 
and  today  Mook,  once  the  little  mountain 
orphan,  is  the  happiest  boy  in  the  world! 

WHEN   THE    SWEET    DREAM   CAME    TRUE. 

When  the  sweet  dream  came  true,  Lad, 
When  the  sweet  dream  came  true, 

I  think  that  day  the  whole  world  was  glad, 
When  the  sweet  dream  came  true! 

And  somewhere  up  in  the  Heaven,  Lad, 
Up  in  the  Heaven  so  blue, 

I  almost  know  that  an  angel  sang, 
When  the  sweet  dream  came  true! 


DEAD   SECRETS   FOR   THE   CHINA  CLUB. 


125 


Three  Golden  Wishes  127 


.       DEAD  SECRETS  FOR  THE  CHINA  CLUB 

Wouldn't  it  be  fun  to  have  a  party  for  the 
Club  and  invite  others,  and  play  the  games 
that  Mpok's  classmates  played  at  their  party? 
There  was  the  clock  game,  and  "Thief  Catcher'* 
and  "Royal  Blood."  You  mustn't  tell  any- 
body outside  the  Club  how  they  are  done,  or  it 
w^on't  be  any  fun  at  all. 

To  do  the  clock  game,  the  two  who  play  it 
must  learn:  A  stands  for  one  o'clock,  B  stands 
for  two,  C  for  three,  and  so  on  right  up  to  L  for 
twelve.  One  of  the  two  goes  out,  and  asks  the 
company  to  set  the  clock  at  any  hour  they  like, 
but  it  must  be  set  exactly  on  the  hour.  Then 
he  comes  in  blind-folded  and  listens  very  care- 
fully to  hear  the  clock  tick.  '  It  is  very  much 
harder  to  guess  how  he  finds  out  the  time  if  the 
other  boys  and  girls  do  not  know  who  is  giving 
him  the  hint. 

After  he  has  listened  a  minute  to  the  clock, 
the  rest  will  begin  to  talk,  and  then  his  helper 
can  say  something  without  being  noticed.  So 
he  says  a  sentence  beginning  with  the  letter  of 
the  alphabet  which  has  the  same  number  as  the 
hour  shown  on  the  clock.  The  sentence  "Can 
he  really  teh  the  time?"  would  indicate  three 
o'clock,  because  "can"  begins  with  C,  and  C  is 


128  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

the  third  letter.  Or,  if  the  time  set  were  nine 
o'clock,  he  could  say:  "I  don't  believe  he  can 
tell  it  this  time."  And  the  boy  listening  to  the 
clock  would  say  presently  "It  sounds  to  me 
like  nine  o'clock ! "  "  I "  is  the  ninth  letter.  If 
the  one  who  is  giving  the  hint  sometimes  says 
"Well!"  or  Oh!  at  the  beginning,  before  the 
real  sentence,  like  this:  "Well,  I  don't  believe 
he  can  tell  it  this  time,"  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble for  the  company  to  guess  how  the  trick  is 
done. 

The  "Thief  Catcher"  is  a  great  favorite  with 
Chinese  boys  and  girls.  One  boy  goes  out  and 
leaves  his  watch  or  a  coin,  and  afterward  six 
boys  or  girls  are  placed  in  front  as  the  probable 
thieves.     One  of  these  takes  the  coin. 

Then  the  Thief  Catcher  comes  in,  and  goes  to 
different  persons  in  the  company,  putting  his 
hands  on  either  side  of  the  head  of  each  person 
and  looking  silently  into  his  eyes.  By  and 
by  he  will  find  the  right  person  and  will  say 
impressively  "Ah!  There  is  the  thief!"  though 
nobody  has  spoken  a  word. 

It  is  done  in  this  way:  the  chairs  in  which  the 
thieves  sit  are  numbered  by  the  two  people 
who  are  doing  the  trick,  beginning  at  the  right, 
from  1  to  6.  Nobody  else  knows  of  this  num- 
bering.    When  the  Thief  Catcher  comes  to  look 


Three  Golden  Wishes  iig 

in  the  eyes  of  his  helper,  he  places  his  hands  on 
the  sides  of  the  helper's  face,  as  he  does  to  the 
others,  and  looks  steadily  at  him;  and  as  he  is 
looking  the  helper  bites  three  times,  if  it  is  the 
third  man,  or  four  times  if  it  is  the  fourth;  and 
the  thief  catcher  can  feel  the  bite  in  his  temples. 
He  can  bite  without  making  his  jaws  appear  to 
move.  If  the  company  do  not  know  which  boy 
or  girl  is  giving  the  hint,  it  is  very  hard  indeed 
to  guess  how  this  game  is  done. 

"Royal  Blood"  is  very  simply  played,  but  is 
hard  to  guess.  One  way  to  play  it  is  this;  a 
throne  and  a  crown  are  provided;  one  goes  out, 
and  the  rest  choose  a  person  who  is  to  be  King 
or  Queen,  but  they  do  not  tell  the  King-maker 
who  it  is. 

Then  the  King-maker  comes  in,  and  the 
leader  points  to  some  one's  hand  and  says: 
"Has  this  hand  the  royal  blood .f^"  The  King- 
maker inspects  the  veins  very  carefully  and 
says  "No!"  When  at  last  he  comes  to  the 
right  person  the  King-maker  says  slowly  "Yes, 
I  see  the  royal  blood!"  and  he  leads  the  King  or 
Queen  to  the  throne  and  places  the  crown  upon 
his  head.  Th^  hint  is  given  in  this  way:  the 
helper  points  to  many  hands  first,  taking  care 
never  to  point  to  a  hand  wearing  a  ring  until 
just  before  the  hand  which  is  to  show  the  royal 


130  Mook,  a  True  Tale 

blood.  It  can  all  be  done  silently  sometimes, 
and  this  is  very  mysterious  indeed! 

Don't  you  think  it  would  be  beautiful  if 
every  member  of  the  club  would  sometime  say 
for  himself  the  words  these  boys  said  that  night : 

"Just  as  I  am,  young,  strong,  and  free, 
To  be  the  best  that  I  can  be. 
For  truth  and  righteousness  and  Thee, 
Oh  Lamb  of  God,  I  come! 

To  know  He  is  in  our  hearts  as  Kaik  Hi  knew  it 
—  that  is  the  most  wonderful  secret  in  the 
world!  And  it  is  for  any  boy  or  girl  to  know, 
who  will  say  that  prayer  sincerely,  as  Kaik  Hi 
said  it. 

Would  you  like  to  take  someone  in  China  to 
pray  for  every  day?  It  might  make  life  all 
over  for  him,  as  Mook's  prayer  made  life  all 
over  for  Hau  Huang. 


ft^ 


In  the  North  and  the  South 
And  tlie  East  and  West 

AVhich  Httle  cliildren 
Do  vou  love  best? 


MAR  1 9  1992 


DATE  DUE 

r  ^^ 

^  m 

1 

• 

■ 

CAYLORD 

PRINTCOINU.SA. 

A/\    000  661790    6 


